Running Free It's not over 'til you say so
by Knat13
Summary: Post-Breaking Dawn. She has been running all her life but what happens when her history finds her? what happens when you find out you're related to the reason you're running? a few new characters, an interesting family history and a mystery in the forest.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fan fiction. please leave a review if you like it! there is a bit of swearing in future chapters and later (way later) in the story more mature content.**

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CHAPTER 1

I could hear their pounding feet on the ground behind me fading. Out running them was easy. Glancing to the road I could see blue and red lights flashing through the trees and the faint whining of a police siren. I heard the gun go off. _Miss! Please miss!_ I thought. The bullet grazed past my arm. A second later I felt a stinging pain shoot through my arm. Cursing to myself I turned heading deeper into the forest. The ground was softer and still wet from the recent rains. I breathed in the musky, damp yet somehow sweet scent of the forest. I stopped to look at my arm. The wound wasn't deep and had stopped bleeding. Behind me I heard barking.

Sighing to myself I closed my eyes for a moment. Dogs were harder to lose. I listened to the sounds around me. I could here the birds singing in the trees, the rustling of the leaves in the breeze, barking and shouting behind me, concentrating I heard the faint sounds of a river. Just what I needed! I started running towards the sound picking up speed. I could feel the wet branches brush against my legs as I ran. I wondered how far I was from the cottage. A few weeks ago I had found a small cottage with a beautiful garden and a pond in the back in the middle of no where. It was fully furnished with an enormous walk-in closet full of clothes. It was obvious no one had been there in weeks. I decided to stay the night and 'borrowed' some of the clothes. I was going to leave again in the morning.

Except... the next morning there was a basket of food and clean clothes on the doorstep. A note was attached with delicate writing saying I could stay for no more then five weeks and then I had to leave. Everyday there was a basket with food and sometimes something else, new shoes, a good hiking bag, and more clothes. I rarely stayed only coming at night to sleep. For 3 nights I tried staying awake so I could see who was leaving the basket for me. Always at around the same time I would watch the door from the bathroom. One second there was nothing, I would blink, the next second the basket was there. I decided to leave it.

I plunged into the river at full speed and gasped as the cold water splashed all over me. I hadn't even realized I was at the river. As I slowed down and was careful not to slip on the smooth, slimy stones under my bare feet. The water got deeper. It was up to my thighs. I felt something wet and furry rub against my legs. _Wait... furry?_ I looked down to see 4 German Shepherds swimming across. They looked about a year old. _A bit young for their first chase._ I pondered. We reached the other side where I was welcomed by the spray of water from the dogs. Instead of running I bent down to make friends. They seemed happy enough and started playing with each other, rolling on the soft grass. Definitely too young.

One of them who had eye patches across both eyes dragged a stick over to me. Picking it up I held it over my head ready to throw it when I heard a whistle on the other side of the river. The dogs came to attention sitting down where they were. Sighing I turned to see Chief Swan looking at me, one eyebrow raised. He was panting heavily, his shirt wet through with perspiration. His right hand resting lightly on his gun. "You don't need that" I said motioning to his hand. "Just a precaution" he replied. Laughing I said "After all we've been through you wouldn't shoot me! But I would like to know why you are chasing me?!" I crossed my arms over my chest, shoulders squared. My arm still stung a bit but the blood had been washed away. "Then why did you run" he countered. "Because you were chasing me!" I exclaimed throwing my hands in the air. "Come on. We need to talk. The Seattle police are looking for you. Apparently you look a bit like a suspect in a murder even though I explained who you were and showed them a picture. You look nothing like this girl but when you ran they didn't wait for me to explain." He said. I stared at him not moving. He sighed and did a low pitched whistle. The dogs slightly confused stood up looking from me to the chief and back. "You don't bite the hand that feeds you" I said and with a mischievous grin to the chief I spun round and headed into the forest.

I lightly climbed into a tree and jumped and swung from tree to tree for a few minutes. Hopefully the dogs would just lose the scent and carry on going. I stopped on a wide branch about 10 metres off the ground. Sitting on my haunches I rested my back against the tree. I heard them before I saw them. They tumbled out of the bushes looking around. I recognized the one who had brought me the stick. He looked up and saw me giving me a little doggy grin with his tongue hanging out. He still wanted to play. I wrinkled my nose as a pungent smell came from my right. It smelt like rotting meat mixed in with dirt and rain. A deep growl came from the bushes. I froze. The dogs below me started to back away with their tails between their legs before turning and fleeing. All of them accept the one who had spotted me. He was frozen in fear staring at the trees. Knowing something bad was coming I dropped to the lowest branch and quickly swung down and scooped him up climbing higher up the tree. He whined and looked at me before looking back to the trees.

That's when it came lumbering through the bushes. I looked in horror at the size of it. It looked like a mountain lion but a freakishly big one! I clamped my hand over my mouth so I wouldn't make a noise. He lifted his colossal head and sniffed around. I knew then that he would smell me, my wound still open. _So this is how it ends... you've got to be kidding me!_ I was just getting good, really good at this life and now it's going to end! It turned and faced me staring me in the eyes. My instinct told me not to stare, it would just make it feel threatened but screw it. I was going to die anyway so might as well stare back. Its eyes were hard and cold. I couldn't see the colour properly but it was a strange colour. Something bad happened to this lion... The dog in my lap let out a growl at the lion.

Something in my peripheral vision distracted me. It looked like a man. A very pale man with light brown hair spiked up a bit in the front. He was wearing dark jeans and a tight ivy green t-shirt. From here he looked tall and lean but well built. My mouth dropped open. What I wanted to see was his face. He must have noticed the lion! Why was he moving forward! I wanted to shout to him when the lion, which apparently hadn't seen him, sprung itself toward me. It flew towards me claws out; its lip curled showing its yellow teeth. And then it disappeared! I looked down to see the "man" on top of it. He lifted the lion up and threw it into a tree. I stared wide eyed as he crouched over the lion baring his teeth and growled?! He then proceeded without hesitation to pounce on the lion and sink his teeth into the lion's neck. Oh… my… GOD!!!!! What the hell just happened? Am I going crazy?!?! Oh my g-d!! He's sucking its blood out! It can't be true…

He finished within seconds and turned to face me. His face was beautiful. His lips were not thick but not thin either; they were perfect and set in a grim line. His jaw was strong and defined and his nose like all his features was straight and angled perfectly. I looked into his eyes last. I have a slight obsession with eyes, it the only part of a person you can look at and see inside of them. His eyes were a bright gold colour. I had never seen eyes like these. He looked at me with guarded eyes, not showing me what was underneath. He was to perfect. It just proved what I was thinking. "Vampire" I barely whispered before I slumped to the side falling to the ground.

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	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

I slowly became aware of a soft beeping noise near my head. My body felt weighed down and I struggled to open my eyes. "I think she is coming around" I heard a soft voice say.

"Julie, Julie can you hear me? It's Charlie" I heard Charlie say. I internally winced as he said my fake name. Ugh… stupid fake name. Why haven't I told him yet?

"Julie, this is Dr. Carlisle Cullen. Everything is alright. Do you feel any pain?" I heard another voice, a calming, musical voice, ask.

Pain? Why would I be in pain? I opened my eyes slowly, the light burning them. I blinked a few times to get used to it. In front of me was a beautiful woman. Her caramel hair framed her heart shaped face. Her features were straight and sharp but with roundness. Her eyes were a familiar, beautiful topaz gold colour.

"Hello dear. How are you feeling?" she asked in a soft voice which sounded like bells. My mind was becoming foggy as a throbbing pain pulsed through my head to my chest. Oh, that pain. I gave her a small smile before slipping back into the dark.

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I woke up to a sharp pain coming from my arm. My eyes flew open to see I was on my side, my body leaning on my right arm. "Oh! Let me help you!" a soft feminine voice came from behind me. I groaned as the caramel haired woman helped me turn and sit up. I noticed she didn't touch my skin but I could feel her cold hands through my shirt.

"There, is that better?" she asked. I nodded and sighed leaning back. As my lower back brushed against the pillow I cried out in my pain, clutching her cold hand with all my strength. I clenched my teeth and squeezed my eyes shut waiting for the pain to subside.

I suddenly felt a strange calm taking over my body, the pain was gone. "Thank you Jasper" I heard her say. I opened my eyes to see a very tall man with honey blond hair hovering by the door, unsure what he should do. He looked at me with the same coloured eyes as the woman. His eyes were filled with uncertainty and he seemed confused on what to do. I just stared at him. He was very handsome, a face anyone would kill for.

I watched with amusement, tilting my head to the side a bit, as his eyes showed me the argument going on inside him. He came to a decision and with a small nod he turned to leave. The blanket of calm seemed to follow him and the pain replaced it. I clutched the woman's hand again.

"Jasper! I think you should stay." She called softly to him. He was back in the doorway in a second, the calm washing over me again. I sighed and leaned back carefully. I could still feel the pain but it was numbed to just bearable.

"Thank you" I whispered. He smiled and bowed slightly. A little old fashioned. I looked down to see my hand was still wrapped tightly around the woman's cold hand. "Sorry!" I said letting go.

"It's alright. My name is Esme Cullen. You must be Julie?" she said. Should I tell her my real name? _No! Of course not! You don't even know her!_ I nodded, smiling at her. "This is Jasper and Alice." She continued.

Alice? I looked back to the door to see a short pixie like girl standing next to Jasper. Her black hair was short and spiked in all different directions and she was wearing an off the shoulder light pink dress. She gently nudged him, whispering something. He nodded and they both moved into the room. He sat down on the chair at the end of the bed while Alice seemed to dance to my side.

For the first time I looked around the room. Most of the walls were covered from floor to ceiling with books. There was medical machinery next to me beeping in time with my heart. I was in a hospital bed but not in a hospital. A mahogany desk was pushed in the corner and a leather chair beside my bed. The door was not directly in front of me but to the side. The wall in front of me had a collection of paintings on it. The most beautiful one and the biggest one was of an old town square. There was a quartet of men standing on a balcony watching over the busy streets like guardian angels.

I looked at Jasper again and couldn't help to see there was pain in his eyes. I looked at Alice to see her fiddling with the blanket glancing at Jasper. Her eyes were concerned and for some reason kept going blank. I looked to see if Esme had noticed these things. She was busy talking softly on a sleek silver phone, her eyes darting from Jasper to Alice to me and back again. I sighed looking down at myself for the first time. I groaned inwardly as I saw my right arm was in a cast. That explains the weird numbness there and the pain. Just above where the cast ended there was a white bandage. I pondered over it as my left arm stretched out gently feeling if my legs had something on them as well. I was still wearing my shorts but they were shorter then they were before. I fingered the frayed edge, confusion sweeping through my mind.

I clenched my jaw as my hand moved lower and pressed against the back of my thigh. I checked the other one where there was the same pain in the same place. I lifted the cover slowly to see what it was.

I gasped as I saw the black and blue bruise along the back of my thigh. It was about an arms width. It looked as if someone had hit me with their whole arm or I had fallen on a pipe. Really hard by the looks of it. On the edge of my left leg a few centimetres above the end of the giant bruise were four small round bruises. I gently lifted my shirt to where my ribs were to see the same type of bruises on my left side. I craned my head to see the edge of a bruise below the small ones. It was the same as my leg except it was wasn't broken in half like on my legs. I pulled my shirt back down and looked up to see Alice was next to Jasper again rubbing his back, his head in his hands.

Esme finished her phone call and turned to me. "I was just talking to Carlisle. Do you know who he is?" I nodded. He was the doctor at Forks hospital. Charlie had mentioned him once when he was telling me about how clumsy his daughter had been.

"Well, he'll be back tonight to check on you. He is asking if he can have a few days off. That way he can be here to make sure you're ok. Would you like Charlie to be here as well?" she asked. I nodded again. She smiled kindly at me. "Do you need anything?" she asked.

In answer to her question my stomach grumbled quite loudly. I felt my whole face and body heat up. "Oh! Of course! I forgot to bring the food. I'll be right back." She exclaimed hurrying from the room. I waited for my body temperature to go back down.

Fiddling with the bandage, it opened slightly to reveal a small wound with stitches. I tried remembering how I got it. How I had gotten here with these beautiful people? Was I in an accident? I couldn't have amnesia because I remembered every other detail of my life. There was something missing… My fingers played absently with the stitches when I felt a small pinching pain. Looking down, I saw a tiny drop of blood ooze out. A growl came from the end of my bed.

With a rush I remembered what had happened. The police chasing me, the dogs at the river, the mountain lion and that man. That man who growled. I looked up to see Jasper; his gold eyes had darkened and were blazing. His hands were holding on the chair with such a force it was crumbling. I remembered what my last word was before I blacked out.

The skin, the eyes, and the way they were all so graceful! I could here the beeping next to me become faster and faster. If anything his eyes became wilder. Of course, the faster the heart pumps, the faster the blood flows. I took a deep breath forcing myself to be calm. Slowly my heart rate slowed down. Alice was standing in front of Jasper pushing him out the door. I heard a crash as Esme dropped the tray she was carrying and was at Jasper's side helping Alice push him out all in the same second. In a matter of seconds I was alone in the room.

The pain in my back and legs came back with full force. I clenched my teeth together, bending my legs and leaning over. My chest hurt and I realised I had broken a rib. I found a somewhat comfortable position and closed my eyes. I breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth. Images from what happened flicked through my mind lingering on the man's face. How long ago had it happened? How long have I been here? I thought of Jasper's reaction when my wound opened. So they were affected by human blood but why did the other one go for the lion… I tried remembering as much as I could but hit a wall when I blacked out and fell out the tree.

My legs were stiff and the bruises were sending jolts of pain through them. Realisation hit me in the face. The bruises! I lifted my arms up as if I were carrying someone. My arms would hold them at the back of there legs and lower back, curling my fingers to hold them to me. My right arm was broken and my right rib. I sat for 5 minutes trying to visualize what happened.

I remembered the dog. Had he fallen out the tree? What happened to him? Did they give him back to Charlie? I remembered hearing Charlie here. I concentrated, trying to remember everything.

A soft knock on the door brought me out of my thinking. I looked up to see Alice and Esme in the doorway. "Is he ok?" I asked surprised by how calm my voice sounded. Esme nodded walking over to me with a new tray. Setting it down gently on my lap she turned and sat in the chair next to my bed. Alice bent down to pick up the tray, disappeared and was back in three seconds. I looked down to see steaming hot eggs, toast, fruit and yoghurt. I dug in quickly, my stomach reminding me how hungry I was. As the hot food moved to my stomach, I felt my ribs ache in discomfort. "This is really good" I said trying to break the silence that had enveloped the room.

"I'm glad you like it. How are feeling?" Esme asked moving over to the side of the bed.

"Ok, except for the bruises" I said looking up to see how they reacted. They didn't miss a beat. Alice began humming a tune quietly to herself. It sounded like a lullaby.

"Charlie and Carlisle should be here soon." She said looking over at Alice who nodded. "You took quite a fall in the forest." she continued. She had a kind smile on her face which didn't reach her eyes.

"What happened to the dog that was with me?" I asked finishing off the yoghurt.

"Who? Buzz? We gave him back to Charlie. It explains some of the bruises" Alice said. I nodded and looked down at myself to see what she was talking about. Looking down I could see down my shirt where a yellowish blue bruise was on my breast bone. I tilted my head and realised it was the shape of a paw. I found another one on my hip bone and near my left shoulder.

"What happened to Jasper?" I asked wondering if they would tell me.

"He doesn't like the sight of blood" Alice answered quickly. I looked at Esme. She was still smiling but her eyes showed she was unhappy with something.

"Oh, well I hope he feels better." I said looking down at the empty tray. We sat in silence for a while. I looked up to see them staring at each other, they seemed to be talking and I saw their lips moves slightly but it could have been my imagination or a trick of the light.

Esme tilted her head a bit and smiled. "Carlisle and Charlie are here." I looked at Alice as her eyes glazed over again. "Um… do you think that Jasper would mind being here as well?" I asked. I remembered the relief from pain I had felt when he was around. He seemed to have something special about him. "Unless he feels uncomfortable" I said quickly.

"I think he can" she said as the door opened and another tall blond man walked in followed by Charlie and Jasper. My mouth dropped open. He was beyond actor good looking. He was perfect. And then he smiled. His light, almost white blond hair was brushed back making his pale complexion look even paler. I heard the beeping next to me speed up. I blushed looking down, trying to calm my heart. He walked over to Esme kissing her on the cheek. They looked into each others eyes for a moment, giving me time to recover, before he turned to me.

"Hello. I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen." He said. I remembered his voice from when I had woken up the first time. "Hi" I said blushing, the heat flowing to my cheeks.

He went to work checking the monitors and injuries. He checked the gun wound. I glanced over to Jasper to see his jaw clench but he remained calm. I smiled at him. He managed to give me a small smile. Alice turned to me smiling, her eyes dancing. You could practically smell how proud she was. I sucked in a breath as Carlisle checked my back. A wave of calm washed over me numbing the pain. I let out the breath with a whoosh. "Hmm… Esme could you get some ice for her back and legs?" he asked quietly. Esme smiled encouragingly at me, stopping to speak to Charlie for a moment before leaving.

"How are you feeling Julie?" Charlie asked walking forwards. "I'm doing ok" I replied.

"I told you living in the forest was not good for you. Especially when you're climbing up those big trees. I told you one day you would fall out"

What? I fell out of a tree? I looked at Alice behind him, nodding her head furiously. Oh, right. "Oh yeah, I know. Well now I won't be climbing any trees anytime soon" I said. Ha! I'd like to see them try keeping me away. I was already beginning to feeling uncomfortable staying inside for so long. I was eyeing the machinery and how high the window from the ground was when Alice suddenly threw her head back, laughing. She slowly reduced to giggles with everyone looking at her expectantly.

"What's so funny?" I heard Esme ask as she came into the room with ice packs. The room must have been really close to the kitchen. She was gone for barely 10 seconds. She gently placed them behind my back and under my legs. I didn't know which cold was her hand and which the ice pack was.

"Oh, nothing! I just remembered seeing something funny" Alice replied looking at me with a knowing smile. I shook my head and looked out the window to see it was getting dark and longingly at the tree tops. Dark clouds were sweeping across the sky in an angry mass. In the distance I heard a low rumble of thunder.

"Well, I guess I better get going" Charlie said awkwardly, looking at his watch. There was defiantly a game tonight.

"Try not to burn the house down with dinner" I said with a playful smile

"Ha ha. I think I can cook for myself for one night" he replied

"Let me guess. Eggs and toast?" I grinned happily at him. He was hopeless at cooking.

"No" he said sounding like a small child who didn't want to agree with something "I was going to order some pizza" I heard him mumble as he turned to leave. I laughed but stopped when it became painful. "Bye everyone. I'll come again tomorrow" We all chorused a goodbye to him.

"How do you know Charlie?" Carlisle asking trying not to sound to curious but his eyes deceived him. He injected something into one of the tubes.

"When I first arrived here. He had seen me a few times in the woods when they were training the police dogs. He tracked me down outside one of the shops helping this old lady." The pain I had been feeling slowly subsided and I continued. "He recognised me and tried getting me to go to the police station to see if they could find out about my family. It took me a while to convince him it had been about 5 years since I had seen my so called family. And it took me even longer to convince him that I have spent all those years in the forests. He seemed upset that I was outside in the forest all day and insisted I come over for something to eat and a spare rain jacket he had. That's when I first learned he couldn't cook anything but eggs. Since then I go to his house almost every other day and help with dinner and watch the game with him." I finished wondering why I had said so much and why I was feeling really light and well… high.

"That is very interesting…" Carlisle mused "I've just given you some morphine to help with the pain. You need to rest a bit more." I nodded.

At the same time they all looked at the door. Jasper moved Alice next to my head and stood in front of us in a protective stance. Alice lent in to me and quickly whispered "Start unhooking the IV. Quickly!" While taking off the IV and other tubes sticking on me I could hear muffled noises outside. Carlisle's hands moved swiftly removing everything. He and Esme moved to the front of the bed shielding me.

The door opened and I craned my neck to see who it was. Two people walked in with their backs to me. The man was tall but shorter then Carlisle and Jasper, and well built with dark curly hair. His muscles showed clearly through his shirt and he was huge! The woman was also tall (what is up with all the tall people?) with long golden blond hair trailing down her back, dressed in what looked to be very expensive clothes. They both backed up carefully, there hands in front of them. Walking in after them was the man from the forest. He looked at them with confusion and amusement in his eyes. He took a deep breath and his eyes changed in an instant to a fiery rage. Jasper beside me growled a warning. He looked at me with what could only be annoyance in his eyes. He took a step forward. Jasper growled again.

I looked over at Alice to see her eyes were still blank. She started to shake her head. "Decide already!" she glared at him. He just kept staring at me. I looked over at the window again, no one was blocking it. I felt a cold hand wrap around my wrist. "Don't even think about it! Not yet!" Alice hissed closing her eyes and becoming still. I closed my hand in a tight fist. I turned to stare back at him. His eyes had dropped there guard and like Jasper earlier there was an argument going on inside him. I gasped as I felt a sharp stab on my hand. I had still been holding the IV needle which poked me in the palm of my hand. A small amount of blood seeped through. I looked up to see his decision made, the beast inside of him showing himself fully.

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	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Alice gasped "Get him out of here now!" she screamed jumping onto my bed in a low crouch by my feet. The man and woman lunged for him but he was too quick and seemed to fly as he jumped over them landing neatly a few feet from Jasper. They crashed into the floor sending a large crack into the room. He crouched in front of Jasper who returned the position. Alice was coiled like a cat ready to spring. The room was quiet except for the frantic beating of my heart which I was sure everyone could hear.

"Conor," Carlisle soothing voice filled the silent room "Conor, you don't want to do this. We don't want to hurt you. Just calm down and we can talk about this outside. You don't want to hurt her." My eyes were wide as I stared at him. His hands were by his side and he was moving his fingers as if he were playing the piano. "Conor, no!!!" Alice shouted launching herself at him. He dodged her easily and she flipped lightly onto her feet so she was now behind him. Jasper let out a hiss, worried about Alice. From the window a tree that hadn't been there before grew through the window reaching with lightning speed for Esme and then Carlisle pinning them against the wall. They both struggled against it, trying to break it. The wall was crumbling and a few paintings wobbled and fell to the floor.

Jasper let out a growl as he tried moving so he was blocking me and watching both Conor and the mutant plant. Alice launched herself again onto his back. The tree stopped moving as Conor concentrated on getting Alice off his back. The tree had wrapped its self around the blond and the big dark haired man was chewing and tearing at the branches trying to get her free. The room was filled with the sound of metal being ripped as he through chunks of it onto the floor. "Leave me! Help Jasper!" she shouted at him.

"You have to go now!" Jasper hissed at me. I gasped as Conor threw Alice through a wall. The most terrifying sound came out of Jasper as he lunged for Conor, pinning him down. Ignoring the searing pain pulsing through my body I ran for the window and without hesitation flung myself out. My natural instincts took over as my hand and legs reached out without thinking to the tree that had sucked itself to the side of the wall. Within seconds I was at the bottom and running for the river. The sky above me was swirling with angry black clouds. Where a sliver of sunlight crept through, the cloud turned a dark purple pink colour. It must have been late in the day, the sun starting to set. The ground below me shook and I skidded to a stop falling back as the ground in front of me started growing.

At first it looked like four giant pillars of leaves and branches when they all merged in the middle. The tree towered over me, moulding itself into a new shape. I stared up at the forest green lion in front of me, the dark sky behind it flashing with lightning. It looked like one of those sculptures you see in people's gardens except that this one was alive. It shook out its enormous mane, stepping towards me. His face was set in a fierce snarl, its lip pulled back to show giant red thorns. The sky above me rumbled as if the lion was growling at me. It prepared to lunge when it suddenly stopped. It just stopped and stared at me. Its face softened and it sank down to its stomach. My eyes rolled back into my head and everything went black.

Conor's POV

I looked at Emmett and Rosalie with amusement as I saw them back into Carlisle's office. All I wanted was to ask him about the girl. I breathed in to sigh in irritation but instead my throat erupted into flames. He brought her here?! How could he bring her here? I had enough trouble bringing her to him in the first place without killing her!

I remembered the scene in the forest and seeing her in that tree, her green eyes wide with horror before she slumped to the side. I had caught her just in time; she landed heavily in my arms with that dog. A cut on her arm had reopened and her blood had dribbled out onto my shirt burning a hole through my throat.

"Decide already!" Alice said glaring at me. Decide? Decide what? Whether to leave her and not look back? Or to kill her right _now_? Alice said something but I wasn't paying attention. I stared at her as she turned her bright green eyes on me, leaning around Carlisle and Esme. Her dark hair was pulled back showing her olive skin face. Her high cheekbones were flushed. She had a wild sort of beauty. A soft purple, pink light was coming through the window lighting her face. Her eyes stood out the most. It was as if she could see the war going on inside of me. The beast was revelling in the memory of her scent, thinking of ways to take care of everyone else.

She gasped and looked down at her arm, pulling out the needle that had pricked her. I was so preoccupied with her face I hadn't noticed what her hands were doing. The smell of her fresh blood wafted to me and the beast let out a roar of victory.

"Get him out of here now!" Alice screamed. Emmett and Rosalie lunged for me but I was to quick jumping over them easily, landing a few feet away from Jasper. He was standing in front of Alice and the girl trying to protect them both. I reached out with my senses to the tree bellow. My fingers moved orchestrating the tree's growth and movement.

My mind told me someone was talking. Carlisle, trying to break through. The beast laughed at his futile efforts. Alice sprung herself at me but for some reason missed._ I guess her power has some faults?_ The beast questioned. _Now! _It roared. The tree's branches burst through the window capturing Esme and Carlisle first and carried on going for Rosalie. I could feel it was apart of me. I could smell and feel the three of them with its branches. "Conor, no!!!" Alice screamed lunging onto my back. I lost my focus and the tree became still waiting for my next order. I could feel Emmett ripping at it as if he was ripping my own body apart.

I twisted throwing Alice through the wall. Jasper growled and launched himself at me, pinning me down. I felt something on the tree, someone grabbing the branches and climbing down as if they were climbing down my own skin. I gained control and Alice, Jasper and Emmett were soon trapped as well. Jumping from the window I saw her running for the river.

I let out my fingers and the earth shook as I decided what this creation would be. A lion seems beast purred. I used my power to the fullest. The grass and leaves and branches intertwined together becoming as strong and durable as a vampires skin. I looked through the lions eyes looking down on her. She lay on her side staring up at me. The sky rumbled over head growling with the beast inside of me. Her green eyes showed fear but there was something stronger in them. Her shirt had ridden up, showing her back. I was shocked to see the long dark bruise stretching along her back.

I realised it was me who had done it. It was me who had put her in danger in the first place. It was me who decided instead of going straight to the hospital to bring her here. Of course Carlisle wouldn't have moved her to the hospital. It was more convenient for him here and she knew about us. I had saved her life and ruined it all in the same moment. I guess it runs in that thought runs in the family.

I dropped to my knees, the lion following me. Emmett and Jasper had me by my arms but I didn't fight them off. I let them carry me off and soon we were running. After a few miles they let go but stayed with me. I ran faster heading deep into the Canadian wilderness.

Alice POV

We watched as he got ready to lunge and capture her when he stopped dropping to his knees. The tree released us and we ran for her. Jasper and Emmett picked him up and headed north. Carlisle reached her first and gently checked her over. "We have to find her a place to stay away from here and before it starts raining" He said as I hovered anxiously around them. "I know where we can take her" Esme said.

The familiar feeling of a vision washed over me as I saw the house Esme was talking about. It was a few miles up the river. It was a small wood and stone cabin. It was actually a cave which she built onto and renovated. It was beautiful with the forest all around and the river flowing in front of it. "It's beautiful" I sighed.

"It was going to be a present for you and Jasper" she said smiling at me. "Why do you think I was constantly hunting in the past few months?" she said.

"Thank you. It's perfect. We should take her there straight away." I said. A small part of my mind was slightly irritated that everyone knew how to get around my visions.

"I'll wait here and call Emmett. Edward and Bella should be back in a few hours." Rosalie said heading to the house and pulling out her Cellphone, cursing at the sight of its crushed pieces.

Carlisle got up holding her carefully. "Nothing was damaged. She just has a few new scratches and bruises. Where are we taking her?" he asked looking up at us.

"Follow me" Esme said and within seconds we were at the front door. I marvelled at the simplicity of it. On the outside the walls were stone with wood frames in the windows and a wooden roof. It had a very rustic, woodsy feel. We walked in and I gasped in delight as I took it all in. The living room had a large flat screen on one wall with a fireplace on the opposite wall next to a window. There were comfortable couches and a bookshelf in the corner, and to my delight a whole shelf dedicated to all my art and fashion books. The decorations were from both my and Jasper's times with a stylish flare. I skipped around smiling as I saw our favourite paintings from the main house hanging on the walls.

The doors and frames were made from a smooth, beautiful wood. I could see patterns running around the edges of people (who must have been vampires if the way the one person standing under a sun seemed t be sparkling) and wolves. "Billy helped me with the carvings" I heard Esme say. "It's wonderful!" I exclaimed. Over the years we had become a lot closer to the wolves and they were considered as extended family.

Esme lead us to the main bedroom where Carlisle gently set her down. The bedroom was just like it was in the main house but without the window. I realised it was the cave. The walls were smooth with lights in different locations. The chandelier looked like an open flower lighting the room with a soft glow. Beneath another TV there was a soft rich rug. I walked over to a small door and opened it to reveal a small closest which would probably fit Jasper's clothes easily. I couldn't help but frown at the size. Esme chuckled and I turned to see her pointing at another door which I had assumed was the bathroom. I skipped over to it and opened it slowly.

I gasped as I walked into the giant space. "Now this is a closet!" I said smiling. It was easily much bigger then the one in the main house. The walls were lined with shelves for dozens of shoes (finally enough space to fit all of them!) and racks to hang everything. I skipped and danced around already seeing where everything would go. I laughed when I realised some of the clothes were not for me. I exited and walked over to the bed. I concentrated and saw her waking up in a few hours. Just enough time to set everything up.

**please leave a review!!! =]**


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

*her* POV

I woke up confused by the darkness. Where was I now? As my eyes adjusted to the dark I heard a soft humming close by. I was curled up in a king sized four poster bed surrounded by soft blankets and pillows. From the bed I could see three doors. One of them was a small sliding door obviously a closet. Next to it was a door made out of a beautiful wood. It was opened slightly leading to a passage. The last door was huge and made from the same wood set into the wall. The walls were a smooth stone leading up to a domed roof where an elaborate chandelier hung. A desk in the corner held a fancy looking computer. I looked straight ahead to see a flat screen with multiple machines underneath it.

I crawled to the side of the bed slowly getting off. I stretched my stiff back and legs. The musical humming was coming from the biggest door. I slowly walked over to it. My foot steps were muffled by the thick carpet under my feet. I could feel my heart beat in my chest. Someone must hear it? With my good arm I grasped the handle and opened it. My jaw dropped as I took in the room. "Holy mother of cheese…" It was bigger then the bedroom with one side of the wall covered in shelves full of shoes. Every type of shoe I could imagine was there. The rest of the room had clothes. Lots and lots of clothes.

A black and white blur was streaking around the room fixing hangers, putting shoes on the shelves and moving everything around. The blur stopped in front of me. Alice smiled at me and was at my side in less then a second. "How are you feeling?" she asked moving me to a couch in the corner. I just nodded still looking at all the clothes. Most of the clothes were fancy and looked expensive. There was a lot of shiny material and I could see an evening gown hanging on the opposite wall.

I looked up into her wide gold eyes. "Don't worry, it's not for you." She laughed walking over to a rack of clothing, "this is yours." She said pointing to the clothes. I was happy to see jeans and t-shirts hanging together. "Um… thank you." I couldn't think of anything better to say. She filed through the clothes and pulled out an ivy green dress. It had a square neckline with a darker green pattern of flowers crawling around the skirt. "You probably want to get cleaned up and something to eat" she said skipping over to a chest of drawers. "The bathroom is your first on the right"

I quietly left and found the bathroom. This could not be real. I shook my head. This wasn't me. I belonged in the forest. I walked in and sighed as I saw the gigantic shower in the corner. Well maybe for a day or two I could put up with all of… this. Smiling to myself I slowly undressed wincing as the fabric moved over my bruises. I waited for the water to warm up. A soft knock came from behind me.

"Can I come in?" Alice asked.

I grabbed one of the soft fluffy towels and wrapped it awkwardly around me. "Yes" I replied holding up the towel with one hand.

"I just need to wrap your arm in something. Carlisle will kill me if something happens. Here are some clothes for you to wear when you finished and there is no point in arguing with me. You will wear what I give you because I know what is best for you and don't you dare be like Bella and complain. Its bad enough she is rubbing off on Nessie. Do you need any help with washing you hair?" she asked half talking to herself as she finished wrapping my arm in plastic.

"Um… no… I'll be fine" I said slightly dazed. She looked at me and for a second all cheeriness was gone as she gave me a darkened warning look. I got the feeling I shouldn't disagree. "Ok. Well if you need help just call me. I'll go make you something to eat". And with that she skipped out the door closing it behind her

I dropped the towel and stepped into the steaming shower. I gasped as the hot water hit my back. Adjusting the water I stepped into the water flow. Ten minutes later I decided shampoo was enough ("For cheese sake, open you stupid thing!") and gave up trying to open anything else with one plastic covered arm sticking out in front of me to minimise it getting wet. I wrapped myself in the towel again and sat on the edge of the bath rim. I couldn't delay it any longer. Slowly the previous events came back to me. My mind was stuck on the tree lion and Conor and there was something about Jasper but I didn't know what. I couldn't help but be impressed with his power. How did it work? Could he control anything he wanted to? Was he always like this? Would I see him again? Would I finally get the answers to who they are?

The questions raced through my mind but I knew I wouldn't get my answers just sitting staring at the tiles. I got up and walked over to the counter. After five minutes I had only been able to put on the undergarments. I stopped, leaning against the counter my back and legs burning. "I told you to call me if you needed help" Alice said behind me. I could feel my face heating up along with the rest of my body. I suddenly felt extremely self conscious. "Don't be shy. I helped Bella when she broke her leg." her eyes took on a far away look as she thought of the distant memory. "Anyway," she said shaking her head and pulling the dress over me. "It's perfect! The colour really brings out your eyes. Come on, Esme helped me make pasta bolognaise. Now I'm not as good as Bella or even Edward but I'm sure it's edible."

She dragged me to the living room. A delicious smell was wafting through the house making my stomach grumble. My eyes widened at the site of a plate piled high with pasta, drenched in a meat sauce. I didn't need any encouragement. I sat down on one of the comfy chairs, taking a huge bite. It melted in my mouth and I moaned as I tasted all the flavours. Alice laughed a soft musical tinkle. "Dis is degliglious." I said around a mouthful. "I'm glad you like it!" she said.

I looked up to see her sitting in another chair across from me by the fire her hands in her lap. I realised she wasn't eating and then realised why she wasn't eating. I swallowed and breathed at the same time ending up with me choking. I grabbed the cup of water and chugged it down, tears streaming down my face. "I'm fine" I choked out. She was standing over me now patting my back. I took deep breaths trying to calm my heart down.

"Don't worry. Really, it happens all the time." I said. And it was true; I couldn't even breathe normally without choking on dust or my own spit or even the air! "So, who are Bella and Edward? And Nessie I think you said?" I asked distracted by the new wave of questions. What a strange name for someone. "Where are we? Who were the others? What happened to that guy? Did he do that weird lion plant thingy? Can the rest of you do it? What can the rest of you do? Are there a lot of people in your family? Am I by some chance hallucinating?" I stopped as I saw the look on her face.

It was a mixture of amusement and down right fear. "Um… well… I guess I could tell you some things" She said. I looked down at my plate playing with the left over sauce. "Carlisle and Esme will be here soon anyway" she said. I looked up again to see her looking nervously at her fingers.

"Well, why don't you start with telling me about your family?" I said smiling at her. I didn't care how but I was going to get some answers.

She smiled back. "Hmm… Where to start? Well for now I'll just tell you the basics and then we can elaborate later on." She stopped, her eyes went blank and then she smiled and looked at the door. A few seconds later the caramel haired woman, Esme, and the tall blond doctor, Carlisle, walked in and sat down next to Alice. "And we're here to help" Esme said giving me a smile that just made me feel better about everything. How had she heard what was going on? Carlisle walked over to me lifting my arm and raising his eyebrow at the plastic. He turned to look at Alice. She shrugged her shoulders, smiling sheepishly. Shaking his head he turned back to me and continued his examination.

"Our family started with Carlisle. A few years later Edward joined him after Carlisle, um, saved his life." Esme said glancing at Alice. Wow…

"Then Esme joined them and she married Carlisle. Rosalie – she was the blond you saw at the house – joined and was followed by Emmett – the big guy with dark curly hair - and they got married." Alice continued "During all of that I found Jasper and together we found the Cullens."

Esme continued "We moved here six years ago. Two years after being here Edward met Bella. Two years later they were married and had Renesmee." Something about the way she said it and didn't look me in the eye told me it wasn't the full story. I shook off the feeling reminding myself when everyone else was here I would get the full story.

"About a year ago Conor joined us. He found out about our family from family in Alaska." Carlisle said watching me closely finished with his examination. I nodded and they all sat quietly looking at me. Well, here we go.

"And you're all vampires" I said unable to hide the smile that played on my lips. The room was silent. I could hear a bird singing outside, the soft flow of the river. Alice was smiling back at me giving me that knowing look again, Esme was looking concerned but happy and Carlisle laughed giving me a amused look.

"Yes. Yes we are." He chuckled, "You're not scared?" he asked.

I thought for a second. Am I scared? Living in the forest had defiantly toughened me up. If I could handle bears, snakes and other dangerous animals, I could handle a bunch of vampires. With a stab to my chest I remembered my past. "Nope." I said ignoring the burning in my chest.

"How did you know?" he asked again. They all looked at me curiously, dying to know how I knew.

"Yesterday, in the forest. I was running, eh, in the forest when I stopped to, eh, rest in a tree. A mountain lion, well some sort of lion" I stopped wondering why I had been chased and why I wasn't telling them I was being chased. Charlie probably already told them. "It was massive. The biggest one I have ever seen but there was something wrong with it. Like it had gone through something horrible and just went completely rogue. It had caught my sent and was preparing to lunge when that man – Conor – came out of no where. I was about to shout to him to run when he… when he… growled at it" I paused again and looked up to see Esme give me an encouraging smile.

"I thought it was the lion for a second but I just knew it was him and then he lunged for it and picked it up as if it were nothing more then a pebble and threw it into a tree. I knew something was wrong around then. Then he jumped on top of it and dug his teeth in its throat and started sucking" I shook my head in disbelief. "I had heard stories around La Push when Charlie dragged me down there." I smiled at the memory. I had refused to go in his car to a place I didn't know. In the end I had won that argument, leaving earlier then him and exploring the forest around the town. I remembered feeling watched the whole time. "He introduced me to his friend Billy. I overheard Charlie asking him more about the legends of the tribe and something to do with him being safe and on a need to know basis. When I walked around I learnt a bit more about their life and the legends and it was really interesting but I didn't dwell on the legends.

"Sometimes when I walked in the forest I would come across a dead dear or something which isn't that strange except there would be two or three dead all with the same markings around their necks. When I was in the forest around La Push I saw some… strange things. I kept seeing blurs… When I saw him attack that lion everything just fell into place and I knew. The legends must be true." I finished and looked up to see them all looking at me with the same expression.

I had seen this expression many times before. It was always the same questions running through their heads: Who are you? What do you want? Where did you come from? Around this time I would usually leave quickly with a made up excuse.

"Julie -" Carlisle started to say but I interrupted him. "Ariana. My name is Ariana." I said looking sheepishly at them.

Esme smiled, "That's a beautiful name."

"Thanks. It's an old family name, passed down every few generations." I blushed, the heat filling my entire body. Ok, they know my name, its ok. I smiled at them.

"Ariana," he smiled, "I'm sure you have questions about us and we have a few for you. So would you like to ask first or us?" He was being such a gentleman. Different but… nice.

I thought over it. I could delay my side for a bit… learn about them… I sighed. I already knew some things about them and they knew nothing about me. _You can trust them, you know you can._ A small voice in my head told me. I sighed again and took deep breath.

"I'll go first" I decided to start from the beginning.

"My parents died when I was young." I said my voice was steady and calm. I paused as the images blurred through me. "You have to understand that when something bad happens to me my body and my mind block it out, as if I've just forgotten what happened." Alice had come closer and put her cold hand over mine. It was comforting and I pushed on, breaking the barrier in my mind. I had had this problem since I could remember. My mind and my body just refused to remember things, rejecting them from my system.

"My parents died when I was 11. We had just moved into my dad's family farm in Texas. It has been in our family for generations. His parents had passed away the year before leaving everything to him and his brother. His brother already had his own farm a short distance away and was comfortable with his life. So my father took the farm to my mother's delight. I remember a lot of laughter. My parents were always happy with what they had.

"I was quiet for my age, I didn't talk much. It was unnecessary at the time; my mother knew I was special, that I was going to be different. Even at that age I spent most of my time outside. I loved everything about being outside. The wind, the heat, the smell. In the mornings I would follow my father around everywhere." I paused again remembering that day. "I was watching him grooming the horses, chatting with me about how to look after the horses, when they came.

"My parents had heard rumours of groups of people further south who took over lands. One moment there would be a family living there, the next a new family. My father and uncle talked about the stories their grandparents had told them. It seemed it was always the same families fighting over land. It seemed to get worse as the surrounding towns grew and closer to the border. For me they were just scary stories to keep me from wondering to far.

"There were two women and a man. They kept asking what our family name was but my father refused to tell them. They hadn't seen me yet and he motioned behind his back for me to hide. I hid in the straw behind the other horses. They were distressed and my father was trying to calm them down. I think that was why he didn't want to tell them anything. My father always said just because animals cant talk doesn't mean we can't understand them. The horses were going mad with those people there."

I remembered my father's requests for them to leave, the horses neighing and stamping their hooves. The sweet smell of the fresh, sun-warmed straw surrounding me. I looked down closing my eyes. I hadn't thought of this in years. Taking a deep breath I continued.

"I could hear him arguing with them. Next thing I knew my father was on the floor in front of me. 'There is no point trying to fight us. We've already taken care of your wife' one of them said. My father looked up at me. 'I love you no matter what. Run and don't look back!' my father whispered to me before he turned back to them. It was the last thing he said to me. The horses had turned and were fleeing towards the open door in a panic. I got up and ran with them. One of them was already saddled from earlier in the day and still tied to a post. I untied him and climbed on. He took off as soon as I was seated. I heard my dad screaming but I didn't turn."

Esme gasped her hand over her mouth in shock. Carlisle reached over and took her other hand in his.

"As we rode past the house the front door was hanging off its hinges. I could see the furniture was turned over, the windows broken, blood on the floor. I rode all the way to my uncle's house to find no one there. I heard a noise behind me and I turned to see someone walking out of the barn. He stopped when he saw me. He was pale and wearing slightly out of date clothing. The door was still open and I could see more blood on the floor and on his hands. His eyes were a blood red. At that moment the sun came out and his skin sparkled as if he were made of diamonds. 'I suggest you leave and don't come back' he said. I didn't need telling twice. The police found me a week later in a nearby town. They said I was going to live with a family for a while.

"I spent 3 years there before I packed up and left. I couldn't stand being there. I was indoors all the time. I saw countless psychologists; they kept thinking my quietness was because of what I saw. All I wanted to do was run free. I needed a change of scenery and started moving North West. I landed up in the Olympic National Park. Sometimes I would go further north to Vancouver. When I turned 18 I decided to go back to my old home. I just had a feeling that I had to go. It looked as if no one had lived there for years. Everything was packed in boxes and covered with sheets. After a bit of digging and hours in a police station it turned out I had come just in time. The police had been searching for me for years but since I never went within 100 metres of a police station I didn't know if they had stopped or not.

"Both my parents and my uncle's places were mine, along with a large bank account. I spent a few more weeks finding people to rent the farms. Most people were not very comfortable living on a farm where the previous owners were murdered. After all the legal business I came back. I prefer living here, out in the open. It's been 3 years since then."

"But why did you return and how come we haven't seen you sooner?" Esme asked.

"I've been moving mainly from national park to national park or in the mountains. Occasionally I would go to Canada for a bit. I was once even thinking about going to Alaska. But… I love the forests here. I was away from civilisation, away from the busy cities, the dry weather, the memories, everything. I barely use the money. Occasionally I'll use it for new clothes or if I'm desperate for food. Otherwise I just lived from day to day. When I first moved I would spend my days in libraries reading anything and everything on survival and the outdoors. The rest of the money is used for the farms and the families living there."

They sat in silence occasionally glancing at each other. Alice had squeezed herself onto the squishy armchair with me, her arm around my shoulders. "We are sorry for your loss" Carlisle whispered, his eyes showing the depth of his emotions.

I smiled, "Thank you."

"So you've been living in the forests all this time?" Carlisle asked. I nodded, "yes I –"

"But what about clothes?! And shoes?! And did you do anything with your hair?" Alice suddenly burst out. She turned in the seat to look at me, her gold eyes wide and staring at me as if I was an alien from space.

"I didn't need it. Sure I would sometimes need a new shirt or pants if they got damaged but other then that I didn't need anything. I got some good quality stuff from the Newton's shop. After a while my hair practically washed itself. And if I got to dirty with mud I would just go for a swim. I don't even bother with shoes. My last pair was eaten by a bear. Did you know bears aren't that bad, they really helpful. Well until they realise you won't let them eat you and chase you out of their cave." I laughed as I remembered the memory. Esme and Carlisle laughed with me.

"No shoes? NO SHOES?!?!" Alice shouted giving me an exasperated look and slowly shaking her head.

"What about us? How did you find out about us?" Esme asked giving Alice a warning look. Alice was now mumbling to herself and ticking things off on her fingers, obviously plotting something.

"Um… as I said before I kept finding dead animals drained of blood. Especially in the past few years. And flashes of things or just the strangest things in the forest. One time a few years ago I was higher up one of the mountains just surveying and enjoying the view when I saw three or four trees just collapse! I was in the nature reserve so it obviously wasn't bulldozers. The sun was out and I could see something reflecting by the broken trees. At first I thought it was a mirror of someone stranded and it was moving around then another sparkly thing came. They seemed to head straight at each other and when they connected… it sounded like two boulders colliding. The impact caused a mini avalanche where I was. It's a good thing I run fast." I smiled at them.

My smile slowly disappeared as I remembered the man outside my uncle's barn. His eyes had been as red as the blood on his hands but the Cullen's eyes were a beautiful gold topaz colour. Could they still be the same creature? I slowly shook my head and carried on.

"Also when I would be running I would look to the side and see something flash past in the distance. Sometimes it would be a pale streak and depending on the sun, glittering. Have you ever noticed how strange the wolves here are?" I asked randomly.

"You've seen the wolves? What did you make of them?" Carlisle asked.

"Wait! They aren't normal wolves are they!?" I said eyeing him. Relief flooded me. At least I wasn't going crazy. "I knew it! I found paw prints a few weeks ago. Huge paw prints. I followed them and tracked down 2 of them. They seemed to be surprised to see me. I knew when I saw them that they couldn't be ordinary wolves. They seemed to decide they would have a bit of fun with me. To make a long story short I ended up needing clothes and soap, lots of soap. That's around the time I found a cottage in the middle of nowhere. No one was around and by the looks of the place no one had been for a while. I planned to stay long enough to get cleaned up. I spent 2 days in a shower, went through 4 bottles of shampoo. After the first day I found a basket with food and clothes and a note saying I could stay for a few weeks"

"That would be from me" Esme said smiling at me. "I went to the cottage to check if everything was alright and to do a bit of gardening. You were in the shower cursing the soap for not making you clean quicker. It was rather comical!" she laughed a rhythm of bells.

"Thank you. It was a big help" I smiled back at her, blushing as I remembered my very colourful speech at the cleaning products.

"What happened with the wolves?" she asked

"Well, what started out to be a game of catch with gigantic wolves turned into a race through the trees, mud slides and a waterfall. One of the wolves, a sleek grey female, was fast and looped me several times. I got the impression that she was testing me. Jumping, climbing, spinning, streaking through the undergrowth and flying through the trees while she ran below. It was exhilarating. The other one had a sandy coloured fur. He seemed to be having as much fun as me. We reached the top of the waterfall and without stopping we jumped. It's quite a sight seeing wolves jump from a waterfall, plunge into the cold water below and resurface perfectly fine. After we got out another wolf howled in the distance. The male got nervous, the female rolled her eyes and they took off."

"Leah and Seth. That's very interesting, especially of Leah. You weren't afraid?" Carlisle said, contemplating what I had just said.

"At first I was. I mean they're wolves the size of horses. I thought they were going to eat me at first but it wasn't hard to see they were just kind and playful. Especially the sandy coloured one. He just had a sense of warmth, you know what I mean?" I looked straight into Carlisle's eyes, "The wolves are the Quileutes? Or the Quileutes are the wolves right? I went down to the reservation the following week with Charlie. When two of the men saw me they looked shocked as if they had seen me before. Unbelievable… So the all the legends are true? I went running in the forest and I knew I saw the men again running into the forest and for some reason taking off their clothes." I let out a low chuckle.

With out a doubt the weirdest place I could've come to. Who would have thought that this area would be a minefield of mythical creatures? My chuckle grew into a full blown laugh. It stopped as soon as it started. I clutched at my side, wincing in pain. Carlisle came over and checked the rib. He nodded in approval and went back to his seat. My throat was getting sore from all the talking. The last time I had talked this much was… never.

"You said your name has been in your family. Was it your grandmothers?" Esme asked curious about my name. Carlisle and Alice turned to me. Carlisle was deep in thought as he looked at me. Strange, it wasn't the usual 'she is a freak' look.

"I was the first girl in my family in 6 generations. I'm the 7th. My great-great- great- great- grandmother was the last Ariana before me. I'm not sure how long the farm has been in the family… Anyway back then it was 1838 when she had her first child, Jack. My dad was named after him. Turns out she got pregnant before she and my grandfather were married. It was a bit of a scandal. Her side of the family was very proper and frowned upon her moving to live on a farm. Her sister moved with her and she said he was hers rather then having their parents disappointed with Ariana even more.

When he turned 10 he went with his aunt to live further west for school reasons I think it was and he visited during the holidays. She had another son in 1843 I think it was. I don't know his name. The brothers weren't close. Jack met his wife and started his life with her. The younger one went off to the army. He died in 1863. He was presumed dead, no one actually found him. He just seemed to disappear.

"Jack took over the land after his parents died and since then it's been passed down from son to son. I'm the first daughter to inherit it. My name has been carried on through the generations waiting for a girl to be named." I finished leaning back into the chair.

Alice stared at Carlisle, "Carlisle, it can't be… could she… how?" she said. Esme was smiling at me, absolutely ecstatic about something, her small frame shaking. Carlisle put a comforting arm around her. I looked from Carlisle to Alice.

"What?" I asked curiously. I looked at Alice. She looked back at me, her eyes filled with emotion.

"Ariana, what's… what's your full name?" Carlisle asked me. His eyes were shining like a child finding the treasure at the end of a long hunt.

Confusion washed through me. I looked at Alice to see her eyes were far away. She gasped and looked at me in shocked silence.

"Whitlock. Ariana Whitlock."

**mwahahaha! how many of you saw that coming? please leave a review!**


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Jasper POV

We ran deeper into Canada. We hunted when we needed to but otherwise just kept running. It's been three days and I was missing Alice terribly and worried about what happened. The signal wasn't very good deep in the Canadian forest - if we were even in Canada anymore - and we kept getting disconnected.

A movement in the trees along with a wet thud of a heart distracted me. My mouth pooled with venom as I stalked my prey, the dull thud of its heart drawing me closer. The damp smell of the forest mud mixed with the musky smell of the animal surrounded me. I wrinkled my nose at the unappetising smell. Through the thick brush I could see the antlers of a moose. I pounced sinking my teeth into its neck with ease. The soothing feel of warm blood calmed the hot flames in my throat. It was a bit different to the deer back home. It had a stronger, thicker aroma.

I finished quickly and followed the extremely bored pull of Emmett and the mixed of Conor. Emmett wanted to go back and so did I but we didn't know what would happen if we left Conor alone. His emotions were constantly changing from anger at himself to anger at someone else mixed in with irritation and loathing. Emmett was tired of my mood swings. We would be play fighting when I would become extremely angry or utterly depressed. Emmett knew to watch for signs of me becoming angry after the last time it happened. We found his hand eventually… up in a tree… a few yards away.

I walked into the little clearing to find Conor sitting on a rock staring up at the stars and Emmett carving something out of wood. Next to him were his previous attempts, all crushed to a fine powder. He looked up at me and then at Conor and back to me with a serious expression. It really didn't suit him. I sighed and walked over to Conor. Leaning against the rock I looked over at him "So…" I began before he cut me off.

"We can go back now" he said still staring at the sky "It should be fine." He continued. I nodded feeling that he was calm and even a bit happy with his decision.

"Yes!" Emmett exclaimed jumping up with his little wood creation. "When do we leave? I think I figured out a way to beat Edward without Bella's help." He smiled putting his creation in his pocket. "Oh and Jasper, we will have a rematch!" he gave me an evil smile wiggling his eyebrows and rubbing his hands. His emotions didn't hide anything. Irritation, joy, excitement and what could only be called revenge.

"Oh we'll see!" I said before taking off towards home. They soon joined me. "Everything will work out." I said to Conor. He nodded and kept looking forward. I briefly wondered if we were going to have a repeat of Edward and Bella. I shook my head, his feelings weren't the same. I shrugged it off as thoughts of Alice came to me pushing me faster.

Conor POV

What was I going to do now? I remembered Edward telling me about meeting Bella. Was that going to happen to me? I shook my head. I was still considered a newborn. Any human I came into contact with I wanted to kill. She was no different. _Then why did you save her?_ A voice asked in the back of my mind. Because… because it would have been another wasted life. Might as well ask why I, we, feed off of animals.

No. This wasn't another Bella and Edward story. I remembered the first time I saw her. It was the day before, practically the same situation except for the rogue lion and chasing dogs. She was just running through the trees. She was fast for a human. There was something in the way she moved that reminded me about someone or something but I couldn't put my finger on it…

The trees flew by, each branch, each leaf in focus. Bending my legs I launched myself from the top of a boulder over taking Jasper. For a short time anyway. From my peripheral vision I saw him catching up, dodging and weaving through the trees, anticipating each turn and bend. His strategic mind working out the best path before it even presented it self. It reminded me of something… With a shock I stopped abruptly ramming into the Fir tree in front of me, tumbling down through more boulders and vegetation. I finally stopped and turned around to see the wreckage. There was a rough path stretching roughly 100 metres. I could hear Emmett's booming laughter nearby.

Jasper stopped in front of me suppressing a smile. I looked at his face, the scars littering his jaw and neck. His eyes… she had the same eyes. And chin… they obviously had the same style.

"You alright?" he asked, his southern drawl still prominent in his accent.

"Huh? Yeah, yeah I'm fine… just lost control…" I replied shaking my head. It can't be. It's just a coincidence.

"You supposed to run AROUND the trees not through them!" Emmett shouted coming onto the newly made trail. I sighed. Great, just what I need.

"What did you do? Smell another human?" he laughed, "Remember we eat animals not humans!" he looked at and mimed what he said with his hands as if I were a two year old. He opened his mouth to carry on.

"Just drop it Emmett." Jasper said looking at me curiously though underneath I could see a hint of a smile. Ever since I had joined them he had been a lot happier that he was no longer the weak link in the family. "Aw come on!" Emmett threw his hands in the air and stormed off.

I dropped my gaze to the path, strumming my fingers on an invisible piano. Slowly the grass grew, the trees helped each other to stand up and moss grew on the broken bits of rock with bushes hiding what it can. I nodded to Jasper and we turned to follow Emmett.

Where was Emmett? I looked around and dodged just in time. Emmett flew past me ramming into Jasper. Trees shook with the force and I quickly helped to repair. It wouldn't help if people came across bits of demolished forest and began searching around the forests.

As I ran to catch up with them I fixed here and there, letting the trees decide what needed to be fixed. I could hear them laughing up ahead. I crouched, took aim and launched myself at Emmett. Our bodies collided with a thunderous boom.

Jasper still glanced at me. Probably wondering about my emotions. I was thankful that Edward was away and couldn't hear my thoughts. Shaking off the shock and suspicions I let out a low growl, catching Emmett under the legs and sending him flying into the tree. "Around the trees Emmett!" I laughed. We continued in this manner the whole way back. Thankfully this time no body pieces went missing.

Ariana POV

I sat curled up on the comfortable armchair, flipping through the 5th photo album. I stopped on a picture of Alice and Jasper. The photo was old and in black and white. It showed them standing facing together holding hands. Jasper in an old civil war army uniform and Alice in a beautiful gown depicting styles from her time of change. Their wedding day. Even in the photo I could see the love and adoration in their faces.

I sighed leaning back. It had been 3 days since I had found out. Three busy days. I had barely said my name before Alice had shrieked and ran out the door. Carlisle just stared at me his mouth hanging open. Esme was shaking uncontrollably. At first I had thought she was laughing but later I learnt she was crying, tearless sobs. Carlisle recovered and started speaking in a low rush. I could barely catch what he was saying.

Alice returned complaining about bad reception. Several minutes later they stopped talking and just stared at me. "She has his eyes" Alice whispered before flying at me and giving me a bone crushing hug. Slowly they started telling their story. Their real story. Starting with Carlisle I learnt of his change and how he discovered animal blood as an alternative to human blood. He had seen a lot in his three hundred years. After his change he stayed with the Volturi, the royalty of vampires, in Italy before moving to America. Throughout that whole time he had pursued in his career of helping and saving people, as a doctor.

In Chicago 1918 during the Spanish influenza epidemic he met Edward. His parents had already died before him and he was on the edge of life and death. Because of his mother's last request Carlisle changed him. In 1921 Carlisle found Esme in a morgue in Ashland after jumping off a cliff because her son died a few days after birth. Carlisle remembered treating her when she broke her leg in 1911. He married her and Edward became her son.

At this point the blond I had seen in the other house walked in. I stared at her for several minutes before controlling myself. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen with her tall, statuesque body and blond wavy hair. After I recovered from the shock of her beauty she carried on the story a hint of a smile playing on her lips. Note to self: complimented Rosalie = a happy Rosalie. It was 1933 when she was changed. Carlisle and Esme thought she would be a good companion for Edward but they never progressed from anything other then brother and sister. 1935 she saved Emmett from a bear attack. Since then they had been at each others side through everything.

Alice took over. She explained how she was kept in an asylum during her human life because of her visions. A vampire that worked there changed her. She didn't remember anything about her human life; she didn't even remember the transformation. Her creator was killed by a tracker as revenge. She was changed sometime in the 1920's. In 1863 Jasper was changed in Texas. At this point she had gotten a fevered, excited look in her eyes.

Esme quickly stepped in cutting off Alice. In 2005 Bella moved here to live with her father, Charlie. I nodded remembering what Charlie had told me. She met Edward and two years later they got married. On their honeymoon Bella got pregnant. She gave birth to Renesmee and was changed by Edward. Jacob, one of the wolves, imprinted on Renesmee intertwining the vampires and werewolves lives.

"When Jasper and I found the Cullen's in 1950," Alice interrupted unable to stop what she was saying, "He took Rosalie's last name, Hale, because they look so much a like and it made a good cover story to tell humans." She had said, "Though he doesn't remember much of his human life he does remember that he had a brother who didn't live with him and his parents. He was told to tell people he was his cousin. They weren't close and after he was changed he never went looking for them." She stopped a beautiful smile spread across her face. "His full name is Jasper Whitlock Hale." She finished.

I didn't make the connection at first. My head had been buzzing with all the years and other information they had given me. Then it sunk in. "What?! No… it can't be… can it? No… yes… what! For the love of cheese…" Was my intelligent answer. After 10 minutes of hyperventilating and Rosalie splashing the cold water I was drinking in my face I snapped out of it and sat still long enough to hear what else they had to say.

I have an uncle… An over a hundred year old vampire uncle…

I sighed and looked out the window. The clouds were dark, rumbling with thunder. Through out the day it rained at random intervals, the sun attempting to peak through. Across the river, through the trees I saw a flash of grey and sandy brown. Seth and Leah. They had arrived that evening and explained the legends of their tribe and their wolf history starting with someone named Sam Uley. I chuckled quietly to myself as I remembered Leah volunteering Seth to phase for me. After a short argument he trudged outside with the rest of us following. Then he dropped his shorts. I was pretty sure my face was redder than his. Staring at his face his frame began to shake and his body burst open, a sandy haired wolf the size of a large horse stood in his place.

After screaming, jumping and pointing at him I had walked over to him. I could see his warm, dark eyes looking at me in amusement. Leah was different in human form. She was more guarded, bitter with an inner pain hiding in her eyes. She had been through a lot. It showed in everything she did. The way her mouth was set, the distance from everyone, the worry lines in her face, her sharp, wise eyes seeing everything and showing nothing. She wasn't the playful wolf I had raced with all those weeks ago. While her brother was at ease around the vampires she was uncomfortable, always choosing to stand, constantly alert. I noticed she shadowed me slightly, always making sure she was between me and them. I spent the next day with the wolves. We headed down to La Push and I met the tribe elders, Jacob's dad, Billy, Quil's Grandfather, Old Quil and Seth and Leah's mother, Sue. Sue had taken over her husband's position when he died after a heat attack. When they told me this I glance at Leah to see her hands clenched into tight fists, glaring at the ground. Seth shot her a sympathetic look. Seth was hilarious and easy to get along with.

Leah showed me around town, showing me where everyone lived. It took us a while but we were soon talking as if we'd known each other our whole lives. She told me more about what she had been through since she started phasing. I couldn't believe she had gone through all that heart ache and misery in less than two years. I could see some of the things she was getting over like Sam imprinting on her cousin while other things still haunted her. Though she was uptight and unreachable around most people, I caught glimpses of her real self when we were around her brother or family.

Seth found us on the beach laughing our heads off. When he asked what was going on we just looked at each other and burst out laughing again even though it was over nothing. I defiantly preferred the Leah when no one was around. By herself… she was different. She was still careful, everything she had been through could still be seen but she let herself go a little, let herself be freer.

The next day was spent learning more about vampires and werewolves and everything that had happened since their worlds collided. I learnt more about Bella and Edward's story. I found out the tracker that tried to kill Alice was the same tracker that tried to kill Bella and that his mate, Victoria, had gone deranged with revenge and Bella spent over a year in constant surveillance. When I asked why Edward didn't just change her earlier Alice just rolled her eyes, "When you meet him you'll understand." She had said. Shortly afterwards she was jumping around the room. "They're coming back in tomorrow! Oh! So are Edward, Bella and Nessie!" she said in her sing-song voice and left the house in a blur.

Today, this afternoon to be exact I was going to meet the rest of the Cullens and Jasper would find out he has a niece. I was scared shitless. What exactly do you say? Hi I'm your descendent? I sighed, leafing through the photos. I stopped on a picture of Carlisle and a man I had never met before. He was tall with unruly, messy hair, a strong jaw with high cheekbones and a straight nose. He had a crooked smile on his face showing all his teeth, making his eyes sparkle. Edward. Below it was another picture of him. He was standing alone, his hands in his pockets, not even looking at the camera. He looked dark and brooding in this photo.

Behind me I heard the door open. I looked up to see Alice standing in front of me, a sceptical look on her face. "You not wearing that are you?" she asked, her eyes roaming over my ensemble.

I looked down. I had reverted back to my shorts and tank top. It was easier to wear short sleeves with my arm still in a cast and any fabric on the bruises causing me to wince in pain anytime I moved. "Yes…" I said hesitantly. Her eyes flashed, her smooth brow puckering together, her lips in a pout. "Or I might change. What do you think I should wear?" I quickly asked. I had learned quickly there was no point of arguing with Alice. The chances of winning an argument with her were slim especially if it was about clothes.

Her face lit up, all the unhappiness vanished. "Glad you asked! Come on!" she pulled me from the couch towards the bedroom. Pulling open the door to the closet she passed over the small rail with jeans and t-shirts, in other words normal clothing and danced over to a shelf and started pulling out dresses and shoes. Shiny shoes with equally shiny clothes.

"I'm not going to wear that and you know it!" I said before she could force me into the sparkly ensemble. I walked over to the small section of my clothes and the even smaller section of dresses. I flipped through, passing most of them. I was nearing the end when her small cold hands stopped mine and pulled a dress near the beginning. It was a dark blue dress with a sweet heart neckline and sleeves ending just above the elbow. A thick black ribbon was tied around it below the bust. I pulled down a pair of Converse All Stars, the same colour as the dress with black patterns on it.

"I don't know." Alice walked over and picked up the sparkly light blue outfit in one hand and the dress in the other. I shuddered at the thought of wearing the expensive looking clothes. How could I prevent her from making me wear it? I imagined running through the trees and 'accidently' tripping to the wet muddy ground below. That would do the trick.

"Ugh!" Alice cried out and I turned to see what was wrong. She hurriedly put back the fancy clothes. She turned to me and shook her head. "Why? They're just innocent clothes!" she cried out. She handed me the dress and started reaching for a pair of black high heels.

A sudden idea occurred to me. "I'll make you a deal. I'll wear the dress if you let me choose the shoes. Unless you want anything else you make me wear have the same fate." I looked over to where the previous outfit was hanging.

"You wouldn't dare!" she growled, a dark, dangerous look upon her face. For the first time I could see the real vampire side in her. I stared back at her not budging. Living in the wild you come across wild animals quite often and after a while it just becomes routine what to do with them.

"Alice I think you'll find out that she will." A velvet smooth voice from behind me said. I jumped and spun around to find less then a foot away from me stood a tall, strong jawed, straight nosed, messy haired god. Edward. _Has no one ever heard about knocking? Or do you aim to scare people to death?_ I aimed my thoughts at him. I was quite surprised that vampires could have special powers and finding out about Edward's little talent made me a bit edgy about my thoughts. He raised an eyebrow at me and glanced over at Alice.

A woman appeared next to him. She was shorter then him with dark brown wavy hair. Pale white with a heart shaped face and the same golden eyes as the rest of the Cullens. "Sorry about my husband. He finds it fun to appear out of thin air, scaring any human in the area." She smiled warmly and walked into the room. She let out a low whistle. "Alice could you get a bigger wardrobe? And you're still using the one at the main house?" She shook her head.

Alice smiled back. "Nice to see you too!" she said giving her a hug.

"How's my little pixie doing?" Edward laughed as he ruffled her short, black hair. Alice ducked away from him. She handed me the dress.

"Fine. You can wear those shoes. You know on second thought maybe you should just get changed at the main house." Alice said taking the dress and shoes and finding a bag. I stood awkwardly playing with my cast. Was I supposed to say something? Were introductions even needed?

Edward laughed, "Well I'm sure you know who we are but just to clarify. I'm Edward and this is my wife Bella. It's a pleasure to meet you." His hand was out in front of him. I smiled and shook his and Bella's hands.

"Ariana. Nice to meet you too."

"Ok, enough pleasantries. We should start heading over to the house. Edward would you mind?" she looked at him and then at me.

He smiled reassuringly and we all headed out side. Alice and Bella took off and disappeared. I turned to Edward. "Hop on." He said gesturing to his back. I gulped and stepped toward him. Quickly but gently her lifted me up and threw me on his back. I locked my arms and legs around him wincing as my bruises stretched over my skin. "You might want to close your eyes." He said before turning in the direction of the house.

Before I had time to register anything he took off. The wind whipped my hair back and I gasped at the speed. My eyes started watering as the trees blurred together into one big green wall. And then we were airborne. The river flowed beneath us. I didn't even feel us landing on the other side. Seconds later we were outside the big white house. I stiffly let go before falling to the ground. I braced myself for the thud and pain but it never came. Instead cold hands gripped my arms and pulled me up. I opened my eyes to see Edward smiling at me, holding back a laugh. He let me go and I turned slowly to the house.

Hesitantly I took a step forward, this time I caught myself before I fell over. A deep husky laugh came from my right. I looked up to see Seth strolling toward us wearing nothing but shorts. I stuck my tongue out at him and turned back to the house. My legs still felt shaky and I decided not to risk it. I sighed and plomped myself down on the grass and lay back gently to look up at the grey sky. Seth's face came into my view, still grinning like an idiot. Edward's head also came into view along with an unfamiliar face. She had bronze curls, the same colour as Edward's hair, and deep chocolate brown eyes with a rosy complexion.

"Ariana, this is my daughter Renesmee. Ness this is Ariana, Jasper's niece." Edward said gesturing with his hands between us.

"Hi." I said realizing what an idiot I probably look like lying on the grass.

"Not as big as you think." Edward chuckled and disappeared from few. I heard voices closer to the house. I quickly got up and dusted myself off.

Sticking out my hand I said, "It's nice to meet you Renesmee."

She returned my smile and shook my hand with a hot hand. I looked down in surprise. I gasped as I saw Carlisle before my eyes "It has something to do with her DNA in her chromosomes." He said. He disappeared and Renesmee was back. "Please call me Nessie. You're probably wondering about my skin. We still not to sure why but my temperature is just a few degrees less than a werewolves. As you saw Carlisle explaining in the vision." Another unique power.

"Ana!" I looked up to see Rosalie walking towards us, "You better get inside before Alice comes looking for you. They should be arriving any minute now." She turned and took off into the trees probably going to welcome Emmett back.

"Come on. Aunt Alice can be a bit much if we don't do what she says!" Nessie laughed and pulled me towards the house, Seth following us. We went straight to the staircase and hurried up to Alice's old room. I glanced into the closet to see it half filled with clothes and the majority of the space taken up by shoes.

I had barely looked around when cold hands were stripping my clothes off and pulling the dress over my head. "Ouch, Alice! Watch my arm!" Stupid cast! I winced as the fabric passed over my ribs and bruises. Even though I felt better and Carlisle said I was healing quickly I was not allowed to do anything that would over exert me. This meant no running, no climbing, nothing to do with the forest.

I pulled on the shoes with a smug smile. Much better then the death traps she wanted me to wear. Ness and Alice chatted about the trip. Edward, Bella and Nessie had visited some of the friends they had made during the stand-off with the Volturi. I quietly left and made my way down stairs. Seth was coming in from the kitchen, "This smell delicious! Thanks Esme!" he called over his shoulder. He looked up and smiled at me handing me on of the plates. He handed another one to Leah who was sitting on the couch.

I walked over and couldn't help but notice that they made sure I was between them. Sitting down gingerly, I rocked back, half balancing on my coccyx. Someone gasped nearby. "What happened to your leg?" Bella asked all the eyes in the room zeroed in on my exposed legs.

Edward turned to Carlisle and gave him a knowing look. Ness and Bella moved closer to me. I briefly explained what happened in the forest three days before. They gasped and looked shocked in all the right places. Carlisle took over explaining everything quickly. I barely understood what he said but I caught my name a few times.

One of the walls was made entirely of glass windows. Alice stood by them staring out into the forest. They were going to arrive any minute. Everyone seemed to tense at the same time, turning towards the windows. I peeked around Seth. Rosalie and the big bear-like one jumped across first. I blinked and they were opening the door. Everyone greeted them enthusiastically. My plate was taken away and I was pulled to my feet.

I was pulled into a huge bear hug and spun around a few times. Laughing he put me down. "Hi. I'm Emmett. Bet none of them beat my introduction!" he said bowing with a flourish. I laughed along with him.

"Better then being scared half to death!" Bella exclaimed winking at her husband.

I winced as my bumps and bruises caught up with me. A wave of calm washed over me. My head shot up to see Jasper with his arms around Alice. Everyone fell silent. Confusion crossed his face as he took in the new emotions. Behind him I could see Conor in the door way. Seth stood in next to me, angling himself towards Conor. I scowled at him. I hated that they were so ready to protect me, barely knowing me, risking their lives. I heard a soft chuckle from Edward.

I looked back to Jasper. His gold eyes studied me. I suddenly felt light headed. Shit, I'm going to faint! _No you're not!_ Of course not, I'm going to hurl! The nausea filled me up and then disappeared replaced with calm. I smiled at Jasper in thanks. He smiled back, still confused. I looked at him closely, noticing the similarities. He had the same hair as my dad… And his chin… A few other small similarities.

"What?" he asked, looking down at Alice. She smiled up at him, her eyes shining.

"While you were away we found out some very interesting news." She replied. Everyone took that as the cue to sit down or lean up against something. Seth and Leah stood on either side of me and pulled me gently to the couch. Conor stayed by the open door. Jasper was standing across from me and I couldn't take my eyes off of him. I didn't know if it was a trick of the light but his neck seemed to have little ridges on it.

Alice nodded at me. Here it goes. Taking a deep breath I launched into my story. Telling basically the exact same thing I had told Esme, Carlisle and Alice three days ago. I saw the emotions flit across his face. Sympathy for my parents, shock at my encounter with the vampires, a knowing look I didn't understand, confusion and curiosity at why this should be of any interest.

I paused, Leah squeezed my hand. I hadn't even known I had been holding it. My knuckles were white against her dark skin. "My name is Ariana Whitlock. I'm your niece." Silence. Bella and Ness stood with their mouths hanging open, Conor stood wide eyed at me in disbelief, Emmett looked at Rosalie for confirmation. I looked at Jasper last. His face was blank. He just stared at me.

Emmett broke the silence, swearing. All at once everyone started talking. Bella turned to Edward and hit him over the head, "You knew and didn't tell us!" she hissed. Edward turned to Conor, "You knew?" he questioned. Conor shrugged "I only started having suspicions yesterday" he replied. Emmett walked over to Jasper and clapped him on his back, "Shit! Congrats bro! Or should I say uncle Jazz?" he laughed. Rosalie shook her head at him.

Everyone was talking but I just kept staring at Jasper. He still hadn't reacted to anything. Alice stopped smiling and looked worriedly at her husband. "Jazz? Are you alright?" she asked hovering over him. Silence fell again. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. I got up and hesitantly walked over to him. Leah got up to follow but I waved her down.

Closer to him I could see he did have ridges on his neck; crescent shaped scars littered his face, neck and jaw. Hesitantly I lifted my hand and rested it on his arm. I suddenly felt a surge of anger. I flinched away. Not exactly the reaction I wanted. My touch seemed to have jolted him awake. He looked down at me. I tried to hide the hurt from my eyes but I knew he would feel it in my emotions.

"That not the reason why." Edward said from behind me. We both looked at him. Jasper along with everyone else in the room was confused. "Stupid mind reader." I heard Emmett grumble. I smiled and the tension in the room melted away.

"Why don't you two talk outside?" Alice suggested. I smiled at her attempt to give us privacy. Between Edward's mind reading and everyone's super hearing privacy wasn't really a luxury here. Regardless we both turned and headed towards the door. Conor quickly stepped into the house and to the other side of the room. Jasper walked beside me, orientating himself around me, shielding me at all times. I rolled my eyes and headed outside. He started walking in the directions of the garage. He looked back, frowning at the house.

"What?" I asked.

"They're debating whether it's a good idea to leave you by yourself with me." he said.

"Why?" I asked utterly confused.

"There is a lot about my past that you don't know. Because of it I'm not as… skilled as the rest of them. They can differentiate between different bloods. Some are more potent to them individually then others. To me… it's all basically the same." He paused looking across the river.

"Is it hard now?" I asked afraid I wouldn't like the answer. I got the feeling that I shouldn't push him. He would tell me in his own time.

"It's gotten easier over the years but yes, it is still hard." He said. We were at the garage now. He walked over to a shiny motorbike, running his finger over the handle bars. I perched my self on the hood of a shiny red Ferrari, the cool exterior soothing to my bruises.

"I was changed in 1963 during the civil war by a vampire named Maria. There were three of them. Back then vampires fought over land, fighting for the most populated areas. It was ruthless back then. Newborns were being created everywhere. Immensely strong and quick they were the ultimate fighting machines. I was in charge of the newborns. Maria and the others would change them, I would train them. Once we were finished with them they would be destroyed." He paused and looked up at me. I nodded remembering the newborn war Alice had told me about.

He went on to explain about his power, feeling and influencing emotions, and becoming depressed from feeling the feelings of those he killed and making Maria one of the most powerful covens. He told me of his friend, Peter and Charlotte, and how Peter convinced him to leave as well. He had wandered aimlessly through America and had decided to go back to Maria but stopped in Philadelphia. At this point his expression softened and I knew he was thinking about meeting Alice for the first time.

I smiled at him. He sighed. "I still can't believe it. After my change I never went looking for my family. They presumed I was dead and it was better that way. You have my mother's eyes. I got my dad's blue eyes but my mother had the most brilliant eyes, green eyes–"

"That change." I interrupted him. He smiled and nodded. My eyes would randomly darken to a soft brown or mix with a crystal blue. Or all three – green, blue and brown. "Why… why were you angry in there?" I asked hesitantly, motioning towards the house.

His face darkened and he looked down at the bike fiddling with the handle bars. "The area where I heard Maria was last was just a few miles from my – your – our home. I never thought she would go there, it was the one place she said she would never go." He let out a low, sardonic laugh. "Never trust a power-hungry vampire."

I could see it in his eyes. He was angry at her for killing his family. He wanted revenge. "You're not going to go looking for her." I said standing up. He looked at me. He knew I was right, he knew it would kill Alice. "It's in the past now. That's not who you are. This is your life now. And look what it's given you! A family who loves and cares for you. Just because you aren't tied to them like Alice is doesn't mean they wouldn't stand by you." I ducked my head shyly, "And now you have me. It may not be the normal uncle-niece relationship but you're still my uncle and what kind of a role model would you be if you went off looking for revenge and possibly getting killed?" I smiled at him.

He smiled back and looked back down at the ground thinking over what I said. Hesitantly I stepped toward him. We were inches away. Slowly I moved my arms around his waist, watching his reaction. It felt strange hugging a cold, marble statue. I rested my head on his chest and after a few seconds he lifted his arms and wrapped them around me. I felt him release the air in him and take a hesitant breath. I waited, in less then a second he could kill me. I felt him relax around me. I smiled into his chest; the smell coming off of him was familiar somehow. "You not as bad as you think." I said.

I could feel the laughter reverberating through him. I realised then what was missing. There was no heart beat. We slowly, carefully let go. "Come on. We should head back." he said and we turned to walk to the house. A fine mist of drizzle hung around us. We walked in and I looked around the room. Esme was beside herself, Carlisle holding her. Alice walked over to us and pulled me into a hug.

"Yay! I have another niece!" she said in her musical voice.

Ness skipped over to me. "Hey cuz. Welcome to the family!"

I was slowly rotated around the family. In less then a week I had a family. We all sat down. I felt like we were on a quiz show. I had a million questions and I was sure by the curious looks on some of their faces they did to.

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**Leave a review! A/N the next few chapter will be updated quickly and then will slow down once its at the part that im at in my writing and on other sites.**


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

Ariana's POV

We all sat quietly glancing at each other. Edward was looking at me curiously, probably picking at my thoughts. His face suddenly went blank and he whipped his head to the side to glare at Bella. She gave him a meaningful look and shook her head slightly. He gave her an annoyed look.

Bella turned back to me with a smug look on her face. Ness giggled and nudged her father. Leah leaned in next to me and whispered in my ear, "Bella is shielding you so Edward can't hear your thoughts." She smiled at me and I smiled at Bella.

"So, where have you been staying all this time and how have you been surviving?" Ness asked leaning closer with curiosity.

"I stayed mainly in the forest in the Olympic National Park. Trees, caves, near the river. Depending on where I was and on the weather I would either build a little shelter or sleep out in the open. But sleeping out in the open was rare, really rare. I came closer to Forks a few months ago. More recently I've been staying in a cottage a few miles from here."

"Lavender grey, stone floor, low ceiling, fireplace, bookshelf by the window, two bedrooms, humungous closet?" Bella asked tilting her head.

Fuck… I didn't know what my face looked like but Emmett burst out laughing and soon everyone else joined in. "Um…" I gulped, "It's your cottage." It wasn't a question but a statement. I laughed nervously waiting for their reactions.

Edward grinned, "Don't worry about it. But… where did you sleep?"

"In the living room on one of the chairs. I didn't feel comfortable sleeping in someone else's bed. I'm guessing one of you is responsible for the baskets of food?" I turned to look at Esme. She smiled and nodded, her eyes were warm and caring.

"I was on my way to air out the house a bit when I saw you sitting out in the garden reading. I remembered Charlie telling me about a runaway he had met and who occasionally stayed at the house. His description fit. A friend of Charlie's is a friend of ours. Charlie said you would usually eat once or twice a week with him but you never took food with you and after watching you for a bit I was quite unsatisfied with your daily eating habits. After having food in the house for Bella and now that Nessie occasionally has a craving for human food I had more then enough to spare. I was just glad you took the food!" Esme beamed at me, bursting with happiness.

"Thank you. Really, it made a big difference these past few weeks." I smiled at her, grateful that she existed. The past month or two had been harder with winter coming in. It was turning out to be one of the worst winters I had ever been through.

"You'll be joining us for Christmas I hope?" Esme murmured.

"Christmas?" I tried to remember the last time I had paid attention to a calendar. I went with more of a seasonal clock. I just knew when summer was changing to autumn, winter to spring. I forced myself not to think of the anniversary that passed that summer. 8 years. I shuddered. I felt a cold hand on my knee and a second later I was washed over with calm. I looked up to see Jasper kneeling in front of me, his eyes full of worry and concern. In his eyes I could see myself reflected. I was unrecognizable, my face exuded sadness. I shook my head, clearing the images from my mind. A hot arm was wrapped around my shoulders.

"I'm fine." I smiled weakly straightening up. Jasper, unsure what to do stood up and stepped back until he was by the wall, watching me the whole time. I saw Edward whisper something to Bella, everyone's head tilted fractionally towards them. I brushed it off and turned to Esme. "I would love to join you." I was glad my voice sounded stronger.

I frowned as I saw the pity flit through their eyes. Alice turned to Esme quickly, "Do you think she should stay here or maybe we could build on an extra room?" I smiled at her attempt at a distraction.

Carlisle caught on. "She is welcome to stay here but…" everyone looked at Conor. He rolled his eyes and glared at the pouring rain out the window. Esme and Alice nodded and started talking too fast, gesturing with their hands. Rosalie disappeared and returned with paper and pencils.

"So, you've been living in the forest. How do you feel about leaving it?" Jacob asked, his warm eyes searching my face, his arms around Ness.

"It's… ok… I guess. I still prefer being outside then inside but when the weather gets like this," I gestured to the windows where the rain was coming down in sheets, "It's a bit hard to find a dry enough place that doesn't already have a wild animal in it when its raining cats and dogs." I smiled.

"Don't step on a poodle!" Emmett laughed. The couch vibrated from Seth's chuckles and Jasper looked more at ease.

"But honestly as much as I love it out there I wouldn't mind a dry place with actual food every once in a while. Meeting Charlie was one of the best things that could happen; I lived in the wild but still had a dry place to go to. I have the best of both worlds." I shrugged grinning at him.

Suddenly Emmett jumped into the middle of the room, kneeling before everyone with his arms outstretched. Edward muttered an 'Oh dear G-d' before Emmett bellowed out "You get the best of both worlds! Chillin' out, take it slow," at this point Jacob, Seth, Jasper and Edward (who was dragged in my Emmett) were all kneeling in the middle.

"THEN YOU ROCK OUT THE SHOW!" they all sang together, some playing air guitar while others were on drums. "You get the best of both worlds. Mix it all together and you know that it's the best of both worlds!" they ended with a flourish.

Next to me Leah was laughing her head off and slipped off the couch onto the floor. The rest of the girls were all giggling and laughing. Carlisle shook his head with an amused look on his face. I looked at them all confused, my head tilting slightly. "What was that?!"

Emmett abruptly stopped laughing and looked at me in mock horror. "You've never heard of Hannah Montana? Dude, where have you been?!"

"Who?" I asked trying to stay polite.

"Han-nah Mon-tan-na." Emmett said slowly, "You know, teen pop sensation? Oh my g-d, it's Hannah Montana!" His voice went high and girly. I laughed at the sight of Emmett, big and burly, with a high pitched 10-year-old girly voice.

"Sorry, don't know her. Not that many places to listen to music in the middle of the forest"

"Don't worry about it. Something tells me her music isn't your type." Edward said with his crooked smile. Damn, they're all so good looking!

Seth came and flopped onto the couch next to me. I looked at him and noticed the dark circles under his eyes. I looked at Leah, who was still on the floor sitting crossed legged, to see the same circles under her eyes. I looked up to see Jake yawning widely.

"What happened to you guys?" I asked, trying unsuccessfully to hide the worry.

"It's nothing. We just found a weird scent. We've been trying to find it again for the past couple of nights but it seems to have disappeared." Seth shrugged, slumping lower, his long legs stretched out in front of him.

The room went quiet. Edward's eyes flickered to everyone's faces finding out what had been happening. I didn't even know they had found anything. That explained what Jacob wanted to talk about with Carlisle. I shook it off; if they weren't worrying about it I wasn't going to. I looked outside to see the rain had stopped for now. Everything glistened with dew drops.

Conor moved to the door and opened it slightly. A cold gust of wind filled the room. I leaned into the warmth emanating from Seth. I could feel everything winding down. The faint throbbing pain in my legs was making itself known. Time for the painkillers, yay. I wrinkled my nose. I hated painkillers. They always made me feel tired and lazy and heavy. I could hear Seth snoring lightly next to me, Alice, Esme, Rosalie and Carlisle discussing building plans, Leah shuffling into a more comfortable position by my legs, Emmett and Jacob watching a sport show, Edward and Jasper talking in low voices, Bella and Ness talking with Conor.

"Hey Conor, how did you know?" Edward asked looking over at him. We looked up at him. He shifted uncomfortably under the stares.

"I didn't. I only started to have suspicions yesterday." He said with one hand rubbing the back of his neck, "I only saw her for the first time a few days ago, the day before the uh… lion attack." I wondered which one he was talking about. Seth stopped snoring and looked around him bleary eyed.

I tilted my head curiously. I hadn't noticed anyone that day. I remembered back – had it only been a week ago? – I had run through the trees on the way towards the town. I remembered the green all around me. I remembered sensing something but I didn't know what it was.

"I was in the trees," Conor said looking at me, "You wouldn't have seen me." he smiled and I had the feeling I was missing something. He turned back to everyone else. "I noticed the way she ran through the trees anticipating every movement and obstacle, finding the best path. I've never encountered a human running through the forest without shoes, in shorts and a t-shirt, far from any trails, as comfortable as a fish in water. On the way back I saw the similarities between her running and Jasper's. And also the facial features. They have the same eyes and chin." He said smiling at Jasper. He smiled back and looked at me. I acknowledged again the similarities.

"You look a bit like my dad." I said, smiling.

"Cough, stalker, cough cough!" Emmett sputtered out, looking the other way. He patted his chest pretending to try and clear it. "Did you hear that? Weird…" he said, grinning slyly at Conor.

Jacob and Seth burst out laughing; the couch shook from Seth's guffaws. "Nice one!" Jacob exclaimed holding his fist out. Emmett fist-bumped him, grinning. Rosalie sighed and rolled her eyes. Everyone was suppressing smiles. Except Jasper. He was giving him a death stare.

"Ha ha ha. Very funny Emmett." Conor shook his head and then noticed Jasper's glare. In less then a heart beat Jasper lunged at Conor. They both barrelled through the half open door knocking it off its hinges. Behind me I heard a hiss from Esme. "Damnit not again!"

We all got up and raced to the door. Being the slow human I was at the door last. I followed everyone to the meadow leading to the back of the house. I stopped dead in my tracks at the site before me. Conor was on the far side his fingers playing an imaginary piano. Jasper was opposite him dodging and weaving around what looked like green tentacles of a giant squid. I realized Conor was controlling them. Edward was trying to get near to Jasper while Emmett was going for Conor. One of the tentacles caught Emmett throwing him into the trees. Rosalie growled in anger.

Emmett jogged out and held up his hand to Rosalie. Without thinking I sprinted forward. I was almost by Jasper when cold arms grabbed me around my middle. "Whoa! Where do you think you're going?" Edward said. I cried out in pain as my ribs and back exploded into a fiery burst of pain.

"Let me go!" I hissed turning to face him, locking my eyes with his. He starred back stubbornly. I mentally gave up, slumping against him. Without acknowledging what I was doing I slipped out from under his arm. My mindset changed in an instant.

I was no longer an average, frail human. I heard Edward gasp behind me as I streaked forward. I stopped a few metres from Jasper. The tentacles had now circled him, growing into a green cage. Edward made a grab for my wrist but I twisted away. He stared at me incredulous. I ignored him assessing every movement of the green monster.

"Edward! Let her go!" Alice called from behind us. Her expression was one of bewilderment and amazement.

"It's too dangerous!"

"You have to let me try!"

"But… how?" Edward stammered looking down at me and up at Alice.

The whole family was trying to get to either Conor or Jasper. I looked through the gaps in the cage to see Jasper still fighting.

"Jasper! It's not like that! He doesn't love her!" Edward shouted narrowly dodging a green column shooting towards him.

"He can't hear you! And I can't see anything because of the wolves!" Alice cried out, her small frame shaking. I looked to see Leah, Seth and Jacob all in wolf form yipping and growling at the green monster.

Adrenaline pumped through my system sharpening my senses. My body yearned to let loose. I silently apologised to my injuries. Jasper took a hard blow from something that definitely wasn't a tentacle. Alice let out a sinister growl looking for a way in.

Taking a deep breath I closed my eyes. I blocked out the noises, what I was about to do, the growls and shouts of the people around me, everything. I leaned into a crouch and with a hiss I let the breath out, opening my eyes. I couldn't get to Jasper; I would have to go straight for Conor.

A switch inside of me flipped and with a surge of energy I sprinted headlong into the growing mass. Jasper screamed something but I didn't hear. One of the defending tentacles, no it was a snake, headed my way. At the last possible second I launched my self up and over the defending line. I landed lightly in a crouch, a devilish smile playing on my lips.

"What are you doing here?" he thundered behind me.

I ignored his question, "_Listen_ to Edward." I hissed.

I grinned, every cell in body expectant for the next thrill. I sprinted towards Conor, ducking and diving around his creation. I twisted, rolled, jumped, curled, weaved, twirled and flipped through the maze. I could feel all my muscles stretching and straining, barely keeping up with my brain. The manoeuvres melted together into one, a choreographed dance of flight. I felt free for the first time in a long time. With a final jump I landed in front of Conor.

He stared at me shocked. I was breathing heavily, every breath sending shooting pains to my chest. I grinned at him. His fingers stopped moving. I turned to see the wall, animals and tentacles disappearing back into the earth.

Everyone gathered around us. They all had the same shocked expressions. Except Emmett, only Emmett. "That was AWESOME!" he crowed a huge grin lighting his face. "Dude! How did you do that! You defiantly related to Jasper!" he picked me up and twirled me around before setting me down

"Twas awesome." I grinned back, clutching my side, "I just let loose! You should see me when I'm not injured" I gestured to my bum arm. The excitement was still coursing through my body and I was suddenly very hyper. I felt a curious cool breeze on my upper leg. I looked down to see that the dress was torn most of the way up stopping 2 inches from my panty line. I looked up apologetically at Alice.

Her face was still frozen in shock. "I… I… I only saw flickers… I couldn't see the whole thing with the wolves being here… I… you… wow…" she stammered out. Everything fell silent. It wasn't often that Alice was speechless. Slowly the shock turned to amazement and then some worried, some impressed, some upset, some a mixture and one angry. I cringed underneath Jasper's glare.

"What the fuck was that?!" he hissed.

"Jazz, relax. She's alright, everyone is alright. It was just a misunderstanding. Conor was just having an 'I love the forest' moment. Those feelings are not for her." Edward murmured, trying to get Jasper to calm down.

I didn't know if it was my own anger or the anger rolling off of Jasper but I was suddenly extremely angry. "It wouldn't matter who was feeling something for whom or what anyone was thinking I would've jumped in anyway. "That is what I'm good at and I'll be damned if someone tries to stop me!" I said trying to put as much acid as I could into the sentence.

I glared up at Jasper. "Well you're here now and I'm not going to have you running around almost killing yourself where your help isn't needed!" he hissed back at me.

I stood rigidly, my face showing no emotions. "Fine. Then I'll just leave! Next time he -" I stabbed a figure at Conor, "- goes on another rampage defending himself and has one of you trapped, you try and get to him!" I shouted back and turned walking straight for the trees. If I was too much of a problem I would just leave. I knew they would have eventually gotten to him, if the wolves weren't here and Alice would be able to see what will happen. But the wolves were here and she couldn't see what was happening.

"Ana, wait!" Alice shouted. A second later I felt her small cold hand wrap around mine. "Don't go please!" she said. "He just needs some time. He isn't used to this." I looked into her big pleading eyes and everything melted away. She smiled and threw her arms around me. "He'll come around, don't worry." She lent back and tapped her temple.

We walked back, our arms linked together. Chairs had sprouted out of nowhere forming a circle. I ran my hand over the back of one of them. Looking closely I could see that it was made out of leaves which were intertwined together forming complicated patterns. Alice pushed me into the chair. It was soft and comfy as the ones inside though slightly damp. Edward pushed Jasper into the seat next to me. I folded my arms and ignored him.

"Well, that was certainly interesting." Carlisle said taking a seat. He looked tired for a vampire.

"How did you do that?" Rosalie blurted out breaking away from her uninterested façade.

I was slightly shocked but I quickly pushed passed it. "You have to be quick to survive in the forest." I stated simply. My legs and back started to throb slightly. I moved my stiff arms in front of me. It had been to long since the last time I ran.

"It must run in the family." Esme said trying to get us to look at each other. From the corner of my eye I saw Jasper shrug.

"I don't see why you think you can go off to a coven full of newborn vampires seeking revenge but I can't jump through some plants!" I burst out.

"Yes, like jumping through wild, attacking vegetation with vampire characteristics is not dangerous!" he hissed back.

Esme sighed and looked up at Carlisle. "You two should stop arguing. I've already seen you forgiving each other. It was just a misunderstanding. Jasper she isn't some weak ordinary human. She's special." Alice said trying to reason with us.

I let out my breath with a whoosh and turned to Jasper. He looked back at me, worry still clear in his eyes.

"Alice is right. She's not like Bella." Edward murmured.

I looked at Bella in confusion. "I was very clumsy when I was human." She smiled at me.

Emmett snorted, "Understatement of the year!" he chuckled.

They all looked at me expectantly. I sighed. "You see –" I started before being rudely interrupted by Emmett.

"You were in the circus!! I bet you were in the – OUCH! What the hell!" he looked at Rosalie. She glared at him shaking her head. He seemed to realise then that he was making her angry and quickly turned to the middle of the circle rubbing his arm.

I smirked and stuck my tongue out at him unable for a moment to suppress the six-year-old in me. "Anyway, living in the forest I've had to learn a lot of things and one of them was how to get away really quickly from something dangerous. Over the years I've perfected it and I don't just use it when I'm running away but when I'm just… running. It's exhilarating! The speed and the feel of flying! The best is in the trees. The feel of falling but always catching myself and practically flying through the trees!" A dreamy look crossed my face as I remembered some of the more dangerous but fun experiences.

Edward groaned. "I guess she is like Bella in some ways." He turned and smiled lovingly at her. She smiled back. If she had been human her face would've been red.

"Great! We can take you cliff diving! But after your arm is better and the weather is warmer." Seth said eagerly.

"No storms! Please, no storms! And preferably with one of us there so I don't go mad when I see her disappear!" Alice said her eyes big and pleading.

Jasper was shaking his head. I rolled my eyes and looked down at the chair feeling the smooth texture. "How do you do this?" I asked without looking up.

"It's my power. I control plants and vegetation. Flower, grass, trees. If it has chloroplast and photosynthesizes I can control it." I looked up to see him smiling. I desperately wanted to ask him what happened to him but I was equally curious to know about his power. I decided to go with the power first.

"Can you make anything? How do you control it? What does it feel like? How long can one creation last for? Jasper said something about vampire characteristics, what does that mean?" I trailed off.

"Whoa, one at a time!" he chuckled, "Where to start? I control it with my mind mostly but my body helps. I can create almost anything. Kind of like garden sculptures but I can also control them in their natural state." He twitched his fingers and behind me I heard a loud sucking, snapping sound. I whipped my head around to see one of the larger trees move towards us. The branches swayed like it was dancing. I looked down to see the roots blending in with the grass as if it were moving on a conveyer belt. It made a small circle before going back to its place. The other tree moved over for it, welcoming it back.

I turned back to him eagerly. Everyone laughed and chuckled at my expression. "I don't know how to explain how it feels… depending how… real, human even, I make it the more I feel. Like animals. They have eyes, ears and brains. They can feel, taste and hear so through them I can. Earlier when I told you I saw you running –" he shot a glance at Jasper, "- I wasn't there physically, in a way… how do I explain…" he looked down at the ground. A light bulb seemed to flick on in his head.

At my feet the ground started to grow. A few seconds later there was an emerald green cat wrapping its cool, smooth body around my legs. "She was watching you and I through her. Can you feel how cold she is? That's how they are like a vampire. They're cold, hard, practically indestructible and extremely fast."

I blinked and the cat was gone streaking around the meadow and around everyone's legs. I noticed the feet never left the ground. They were always attached to the ground. The cat stood in the middle and slowly morphed. The grass around grew a few inches higher swaying though there was no breeze. A dorsal fin emerged and disappeared. I gasped as I looked around me. A green sea with a pod of dolphins. In the distance I saw a whale tail slapping.

"Wow!" I was speechless.

"If I'm making something that I will eventually not need it stays rooted to the ground. The less rooted to the ground the more individual thought it has. I still control it but it will act more like the thing that it is like a dog would scratch its ear or chase its tail without me telling it to. People are strange though. They end up following the real person mimicking everything they do. They can't talk but its like have a mime follow you everywhere!"

"People?" I asked. Someone put there hand on shoulder. I turned to see a green replica Alice smiling down at me. I felt my jaw drop. I stood up and studied her closer. It was an almost exact replica. I looked down to see her still rooted. Looking into her eyes was unnerving. He shape was there, I could make out the iris and the pupil but it was all in varying shades of green. From far it would look the same, empty colourless eyes. I cringed at the thought. Next to the green Alice, green Jasper glided over. The both smiled at me. I smiled back.

I turned back to Conor. "So because they have eyes and eyes you can see and hear through them?" he nodded.

"Cool hey? He still can't beat me though!" Emmett's booming laugh echoed in the air.

I looked confusedly at Jasper. "He makes animals or people and because they're fast and durable like us is easy to play fight with them. It's also more equal since Edward can't hear them and if Conor uproots them they mimic us and for once we can actually have a fair fight." He grinned over at Edward who looked sourly at the ground.

"You just got lucky" he grumbled to himself. Bella stroked his hair and winked at me.

"Oh Seth! Your mom just disappeared! She was by the phone when she did so…" she stopped as a song began playing from Seth's pants. Leah looked up at Seth.

"Hey mom… yeah she is… ok I think… she's a real adventure freak… sure sure… see you later." He finished the call and looked at me. "Mom invited you to dinner tonight. Charlie will probably be there I'm sure he'd like to see you."

I smiled and nodded. I hadn't seen Charlie in a while.

"Well in that case, Ana, I think you need some rest. Though it was truly amazing what you did you're injuries will be catching up with you soon." Carlisle said checking my arm and ribs again. I sighed. He was right. Even now I could feel the pain coming. I wrinkled my nose at the thought of being carried back. I didn't really mind it, I just wanted to go at a human pace.

"Have you ever ridden a horse?" Jasper asked me quietly. I looked up to see a beautiful green horse next to him. He was at least 15 hands. A dark, almost black green bridal and reins was already in place. Esme disappeared and returned with a blanket. She draped it over the horses back and Conor secured it with more of the vines.

My heart beat faster. I looked over to Conor to thank him. He was standing very still, his eyes closed, his fingers playing silently. I looked at Jasper. He pointed down at the horses hooves. The horse moved restlessly and looking closer I could see the hooves separating from the earth. With a sigh Conor opened his eyes.

"It's easier this way. You can control him as if he were a real flesh and blood horse. Slowly my connection to him will dim but I'll always know where he is." he smiled at me. I grinned back and walked over to the horse. I ran my hand over his flanks moving my hand to his face feeling the softness of his nose. I giggled as it tickled my palm. "He'll be the best pet you'll ever have. You don't have to feed him or clean after him. Just a few hours in the sun everyday and he'll be fine."

What to call him? Let's see, he's green, made out of plants. I looked down to see around his hooves clovers were growing. Bending down I randomly picked one. Opening my hand I counted the leaves. Then I counted again. Four leaves. My lucky day! "Clover." I whispered, a small smile on my lips. Edward chuckled and took Bella's hand and walked back to the house.

"Come on. You should get some rest. And don't worry I already have something for you to wear!" Alice said as she skipped beside Jasper and I. I frowned at her. "Don't worry, you'll approve!" she laughed, wind chime in a summer breeze.

Jasper offered me his hand and helped me up onto the horse. I cringed uncomfortably as the material made contact with my bruises. Jasper took the reins and started leading me down the river. By then most people had dispersed. Leah and Seth yipped a goodbye, heading home. Rosalie and Emmett disappeared to… somewhere private. The rest went for a hunting trip or back inside the house.

We rounded a few trees and the big white house disappeared. It was just me and Jasper. The horse moved beneath me, my hips swayed with the rise and fall of his legs. I looked down at Jasper to see his shoulders stiff and staring straight ahead. I opened my mouth a number of times but the words wouldn't come out. He turned without warning into the forest. I was distracted slightly from ducking and dodging low hanging branches. Drops of water dripped down on me, some going down the back of my neck making me shiver. He made a U-turn and stopped.

"I'm not sure what will happen exactly of if he can make it but I thought it would be better not to take chances and have a running start." He said not looking up. I looked straight ahead and could just make out the river. I gulped. Jasper gave me the reins.

"Ok, I'm ready." I gently tapped the horse and he seemed to know what I wanted and started moving forward faster and faster. I ground my teeth as we picked up speed, my legs ready to fall off. The faster we moved the easier it was. I leant forward with the horse. I looked to the side to see Jasper keeping pace and realizing we were moving faster then your average horse. Vampire characteristics. Right.

We sped by the small stretch of grass between the forest and the river and flew across the churning river below. We landed with a thud-thud and I squeaked in pain. Jasper looked over to me worried but unsure what to do. I shook it off and stared straight. His brow furrowed but I couldn't see his eyes to tell whether he was worried or angry.

Why was he acting like this? Did I do something wrong? I went over everything that happened. A fuck load had happened. I hadn't done anything wrong. I was being me! If he didn't like who I was he could just deal with it! I decided then and there I didn't care if he carried on acting like this. I was staying or at least keeping in touch. The rest of them seemed to like me. Or did they? What if they didn't like me? What would they do? Ask me to leave? Why the fuck did I care so much! Damn it! Damn it all to heck! I was better off alone. Remembering Alice I didn't make any solid plans. I would go to the dinner tonight and figure things out there. I silently thanked the wolves for the magic in their blood that made it impossible for Alice to see them.

We slowed to a stop outside the house. Jasper walked forward to help me. I swung my leg so that I would dismount on the opposite side of him. Without looking at him I took the reins and looked for a good place to tie Clover. "I'll take care of the horse." I heard him say softly.

I nodded and dropped the reins turning on my heel towards the house. I quickly made my way to the closet and found a comfy pyjama set before heading towards the bathroom. Locking the door behind me I saw on the sink the plastic wrapping with a note from Alice.

'_Please.' _Was all it said.

10 minutes later I was cursing the stupid cast and shower products. I got out and dressed quickly. Depositing my wet towels and dirty clothes in the laundry basket I turned right and headed for the living room. I walked over to the bookshelf and perused around looking for something to read. Giving up I turned to the couch. The photo album was still there. I opened it at a random place. My frown deepened as I saw the picture it landed on. Jasper and Alice's wedding. I guess Alice would be the only one to see the real him. I absently thought back to our little moment in the garage. I had caught glimpse then but everything had spiralled out of control from there.

I settled further into the couch my eyes heavy. I hadn't realised how tired I was. I felt a whisper of silence near me. The heavy photo album left my lap and a blanket was draped over me. I groaned slightly as I got comfortable. A familiar homey smell filled my nostrils pushing me closer to sleep. A cold hand brushed the hair from my face and blanket of calm and numbness settled over me taking the pain away before I went under.

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**review please!**


	7. Chapter 7

**okey dokey so we almost caught up with the other sites! yay! now a few of you added this story to your alerts and im so thankful and i would really appreciate it if you would COMMENT as well! please? the more comments i get the happier i am and the quicker i write and post! so dont forget!**

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CHAPTER 7

Ariana POV

"Wakey wakey sleepy head." I felt a cool breeze whisper by my ear. "Ana, it's time to wake up! You're going to be late." The voice got louder. My mind was trying to figure out what was happening. Part of me was still asleep and fighting for it, another part knew that I should be awake and was trying to open my eyes.

Suddenly a sound shot through the room. I bolted upright looking around wearily. Next to the window smiling sheepishly was Seth. I glared at him and turned back to my pillow but found Alice in the way.

"Bless you Seth." she turned to look at me, "You need to get ready." I let out a feeble growl before crawling onto her cold, hard lap. She laughed softly, running her fingers through my hair. "Maybe we should layer your hair. It would suit you. Would you like to ride with Seth or Clover?" before she could say anything else I reached up and blindly felt around her face for her mouth clamping it shut with my hand. She mumbled something I couldn't quite distinguish. I felt something cold poke my hand.

"Eew! You licked me!" I sat up again wiping my hand on her leg. "Fine I'll get up!" I stood up and stretched hearing the familiar cracks of my bones.

"It's not like I could bite you. My options were limited." She smiled up at me.

"Yeah, super human strength isn't good enough of an option." I muttered to myself and shuffled towards the bathroom Alice in tow. Again she wrapped my arm and insisted on helping me wash my hair. All these years I had just been using water and my hair did just fine. It practically cleaned itself! Now I was using fancy scented shampoo AND conditioner.

After helping me into a simple outfit we went back into the living room. I reminded myself to let Alice do at least one makeover thing for me. Her face lit up and she excitedly grasped my hands. "You'll look so cute with your hair like that!" I smiled back. Cute, just what I wanted to look like I grimaced internally.

Seth was waiting outside in his wolf form. Even lying down I had to stretch a bit to scratch his ears. I patted Clover on the nose. Securing my foot in the stirrup I heaved up. Seth stepped forward and used his head to push me the extra few inches. The blanket was now covering a green, leafy and squishy saddle. I waved to Alice standing alone outside of the house. Though he wasn't there I could feel him watching me. As I turned back and grasped the reins I felt the tingling sensation move from my back to my side. He was across the river. I would bet my life on it.

Seth and I took off, the forest blurring around us. The last light of the day was lost in the trees. I leaned forward relishing in the cool wind. It cleared my head, blew away the last of the sleepiness. As we drew nearer I could smell the salty brine in the air. I was excited to see Charlie again. It felt like weeks since I'd last seen him. We slowed to a trot before stopping completely. Looking around I was pretty sure we were still in the forest.

"We have to go on foot from here to the road to meet up with Leah. Jake will take Clover to his house." As if on cue Jacob walked out from a gap in the trees. He had a big sunny smile on his face. Swinging my leg over I felt large warm hands around my waist. Seth gently lifted me and set me down. "Come on, this way." We walked in silence through the trees. He seemed to sense I wasn't in the mood to talk.

After a small war with one of the bushes I stumbled out of the forest a few feet from the road. Leah was waiting with her feet on the dashboard listening to music in Jacob's Rabbit. He must have let her borrow it. Hanging out of the back window was a familiar furry black and white head. The dog yipped and barked before jumping out of the window. He wiggled around my legs, his whole body shaking with his tail.

"Hey! Where do you– Oh hey guys. Get in." Leah said flashing a smile and starting the car.

I crawled into the back seat and laughed as the over enthusiastic dog jumped up on my lap. On his collar in a simple font was the name 'Buzz'. It took a second for my brain to make the connection.

"Buzz! Hello! Who's a good boy? Yes you are, yes you are! Over-active ball of fluff!" I turned to a ball of mush in the dog's warm, friendly brown eyes. Seth and Leah chatted in the front while I gazed out the window at the darkening sky stroking Buzz's head. Pulling up next to the house I recognised Charlie's cruiser.

We were barely out of the car before Buzz streaked into the house. We followed behind, my excitement growing with every step. I took in the simple house with a wrap-around porch. "Julie!" I looked up to see Charlie standing in the front door.

I smiled back. "Hey Charlie!" I stepped up the steps quickly and gave him an awkward one-armed hug. I looked down guiltily. At least I knew one topic tonight. A delicious smell wafted around us.

"How are you doing?" He asked, "You healing quickly?"

"Much better. Carlisle says in a few more weeks I'll be as good as new."

I walked into the kitchen to find Sue stirring a pot of soup on the stove. She turned to smile at me before turning back. Leah and Seth bustled around finding plate and cutlery. I turned to get cups but Sue shooed me away.

"Go talk to Charlie. He's so happy to see you again." She smiled softly at me. I turned to head towards the dining/living room. Sue put her hand on my arm, "He won't be upset."

I nodded and walked out. Charlie was sitting on the couch rubbing Buzz's ears. I could hear him softly speaking to him. "So…" I said letting out a nervous laugh. Charlie looked up at me with a crinkly eyed smile making him look ten years younger.

"Charlie I have to tell you something." I said taking a seat next to him.

"Don't worry about it Julie. Or do you prefer Ariana?" he grinned at me.

I sat in shock. He knew. Of course he knew. I was stupid to think he would fall for it. I sighed defeated, slumping back into the couch. "I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner. I just…"

"It's ok. You had your reasons. It didn't take me that long to figure out though. You do remember that I'm Chief of Police in Forks? One of my friends in Texas helped me out."

I looked into his eyes. There were a number of emotions. Pity and sorrow were there. He knew everything, not just my real name, everything that had happened to my family and how I got here. Well, he knew the human version.

"Dinner's ready!" Leah hollered from the kitchen.

We got up quickly and found our seats at the table. He gently laid his hand on my shoulder smiling warmly at me. I smiled up at him, a weight I never knew was there lifted from shoulders. We sat down quickly and started passing around the food.

"Ana would you like some soup?" Charlie asked me. I nodded and saw Seth, Leah and Sue glance at each other.

The rest of the evening went by smoothly. We talked about general things happening like the renovations to the town centre courtesy of the Cullen's.

"So how's work?" I asked Charlie cutting myself a second piece of pie. I looked up when I got no answer to see Charlie's mouth in a grim line. "What?"

"It's nothing. Well I think it is. The rangers have been having some trouble in the forest. One of them came across a completely destroyed path about 2 weeks back. They wouldn't have noticed it if it hadn't crossed one of the hiking trails. They found a few dead elk in the path. Whatever it was slaughtered them." He stopped and pondered over his piece of pie.

I looked at Leah to see her looking at Seth who was on the phone. He hung up and shared a look with Leah. She nodded and stood up swiftly. "We should get you back." she said piling dishes and heading to the kitchen. I nodded and stood up. Charlie came out of his own little world with a start.

"Oh I almost forgot!" He picked up his jacket and rooted around in the pockets pulling out a white envelope. "This came in the post for you." He handed me the letter.

I was confused by the return address. Tearing open the envelope I took out a single sheet of paper. I scanned it quickly. Then I read it again. A few words jumped up at me. _Family farm… barn fire… no survivors… tragic accident…_

"Ana? Ana? Ana!" I heard them calling to me from far away. After what seemed like hours I lifted my gaze. Leah was in front of me shaking my shoulders. Wordlessly I handed her the letter. She scanned it quickly. Only she and Seth would know what it really meant.

Blindly I turned and ran out the door. The clattering of stones under my feat brought me back. I looked around surprised in the dark. I could hear the waves a few feet away. I was on first beach. The only light came from the half-moon and stars. I clutched at me hair, shaking my head, trying desperately to block out the memories. This was the third time. First was my family. A few years later another couple left after the disappearance of some of their family members and complaining the farm was haunted. And now. Would it ever end? Was there a point of going through all the legal business to find someone to live there?

I paced up and down. I would have to go back. Jasper wouldn't be happy. Would he even care? Even if he did they wouldn't be able to come with me. There would still be sun and someone was bound to notice a group of extremely shiny people. I sat down and put my head in my hands.

I slowly became aware of the strange sensation of being watched. I looked down confusedly at the rocks. The tingling sensation wasn't coming from behind me in the forest. I looked up but no one was in sight. I strained against the dark to make out a movement, a shadow, anything. I could make out the moon reflecting on the waves. Looking out to sea I saw the glow of lights on a boat. It appeared to be a small fishing boat. As I watched it I saw a shadow flicker past one of the windows and then all the lights went out. I had the strange feeling whoever was watching me was on that boat.

"You okay?" a soft voice said behind me. I jumped up in fright clutching my heart.

"Don't do that!" I hissed at Leah. She ignored me her face tilted up to the wind. She shook her head concentrating. "What is it?"

"This scent. We found it a few weeks ago but it isn't _on_ anything. It just _hangs_ in the air. We know its something but we can't follow the trail. We've tried but… whatever it is hasn't touched anything that we've found. It's just carried on the wind… but from where!" she growled angrily before looking back at me. "Come on. Everyone is waiting for us."

We walked back to the parking lot by the beach. Charlie and Seth were there standing by the cruiser. "I'm so sorry. I'm sure you need to go back to sort out a few things. I can take a couple of weeks off if you want to help out-"

"NO!" I shouted out, "I mean you need to stay here especially with everything going on so close to town. Jasper knows someone down there and he has been meaning to visit. I'm sure he and Alice can take me there." I tried to smile as convincingly as possible without letting the hysteria show through. He was going no where near there!

"Anyway we should get going. Alice will probably have to plan what we need to make."

Charlie nodded knowingly. "Alright. Call me when you get there." he said a little gruffly trying not to be too emotional but emotional enough.

I nodded wordlessly and watched him get into his car and drive off. His headlights had barely disappeared before we were running to the forest. I threw one last look in the direction of the sea. The light was on, a silhouette of a man standing. I stalled for a second before turning back and following the others. The tingling feeling on my back slowly disappeared. I carefully stored the thoughts and image away.

Leah and Seth were already in wolf form waiting with Jake and Clover. Seth lowered himself and helped me step up. We took off running faster than I'd ever been before. I ducked my head out of the freezing wind. We reached the house in record time stopping just outside the back door. This time cold hands were around my waist. They didn't let me go and in a swift movement my legs were knocked out from under me and I was cradled to a cold hard chest.

I looked up into Jasper's worried gold eyes. I could see my eyes reflected in his. I saw the reason for his panic. My eyes were cold and sad. I curled into his chest as he moved quickly towards the house. Once we were inside he placed me gently on the couch, sitting next to me.

"What happened? Are you ok?" His worry was slowly seeping through the room making everyone nervous and fidgety.

"I'm ok. Calm down. You're making everyone even more worried." I said. Slowly the air cleared from the worrying cloud.

By now the letter had been passed around and handed to Jasper. He scanned it quickly. "You're not going." He said as if that ended everything.

Emmett rolled his eyes and looked annoyingly at Jasper. "Bet you 100 bucks she's going." Jasper growled at him.

"He's right. She is going." Alice said softly resting her hand on his shoulder. He visibly relaxed but the tension never left his face. "We'll be with her the whole time."

"He can't go!" I protested, "We don't know what will happen if Maria is there. It's too dangerous for him!"

It was Jasper's turn to roll his eyes, "I'll be fine. Maria on the other hand…" He didn't finish the thought. A shiver ran down my spine as I thought about what he would do.

"Bet you 100 bucks he's going." Emmett smiled at me.

"They both are so that's settled. Edward, Bella and I will be coming to." Alice chimed in ending the conversation.

"We want to come to!" Leah said adamantly.

I sighed. We might as well all go. I turned to see Carlisle sitting by the window in casual clothes. I thought he was supposed to do the night shift at the hospital. He usually did.

Alice, Jasper, Seth and Leah moved to the corner arguing about who was going. I looked back at Carlisle.

"He isn't working at the hospital anymore. It's become harder for him to pass at any age over 35." Edward whispered in my ear. I nodded in understanding. Working at the hospital, helping others was everything to Carlisle with exception of Esme and the family.

What would he do now? This sparked another question. I turned to Edward. "You're moving?" I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a question or a statement. Edward sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Indecision was prominent in his eyes.

"We're not sure what we're going to do. There are other elements we hadn't anticipated when we first moved here." Carlisle said from the other side of me. I followed his gaze as he looked first at Renesmee and Jacob, talking quietly together, then moved on to Leah and Seth, both standing with there arms crossed glaring at Alice and Jasper, then he looked at Conor, joining in the argument with Bella, Emmett and Rosalie, and finally he turned to look at me.

"The reasons to stay, out weigh the reasons to go." Esme said softly holding Carlisle's hand. I realised with a pang that that they counted me as one of those reasons. I really needed to start getting used to having people care about what happened to me.

"So what will you do?" I asked a little worried about the answer.

"A few years of retirement wouldn't hurt. A few years for a vampire are like a few days for a human. Maybe another honeymoon is in order." He smiled lovingly at Esme and kissed her hands, her cheek and finally her lips. She smiled back, her eyes shining with the love and adoration.

I turned back to Edward to give them some privacy. "What will you and Bella do?" I asked.

He let out a shaky laugh, "I'm not sure. Ness is still growing and leaving with her would mean Jacob coming with us leaving the pack without a leader. Bella is happy here. She can see her father when she wants to though gradually it will be less. It will be hard to leave here. We might go to Alaska for a bit. Bella still needs her college experience." He looked over at his wife. Bella was standing between everyone trying to sort everything out, a pucker between her eyebrows. I blinked and Edward was next to her smoothing it away. I smiled at them and he smiled back.

"Bella is coming in case we need a shield, Edward is there so we know what they're thinking, Jasper is there because he has been there before, and I'M there so that I can see if anything is going to happen. If you come I can't _SEE_ what is going to happen!" Alice shouted her expression darkening with every syllable.

"Then you might as well take Emmett with you for his strength and Conor for his plant friends. We can contribute just as much as you!" Leah was shouting back, "And anyway we blend in just a tad more then you. I think the town folk will notice you glittering like diamonds." Leah continued.

"Everyone is going! We'll make a family trip out of it. No one will see you on the actual farm but when I go into town Leah or Seth can go with me. Happy?" I stared them all down, daring them to argue. "If someone doesn't want to go they don't have to."

"She's right. If you don't want to go, stand by the door. If you do want to go stand by the window." Carlisle easily took charge, directing everyone to their place. Renesmee and Jacob stood by the door. Rosalie joined them. Emmett stood in the middle looking from the one side to Rosalie and back again. Rosalie smiled at him and nodded.

"Love you, babe!" he kissed her and joined Jasper, Alice, Edward, Bella, Seth, Leah and Conor by the windows.

Carlisle and Esme spoke quietly together before Esme moved toward the door and Carlisle orientated himself so that he was still in the middle but was clearly on the 'not going' side. I looked at my little group of followers.

"How exactly are we supposed to get there with most of you sensitive to the sun or closed packed space full with people or both?" I questioned. Alice became still, a far away look in her eyes. Edward nodded along with what she was seeing.

"You, Seth and Leah will fly. The rest of us will drive. We can take Carlisle's Mercedes if he doesn't mind-" She paused as she saw his answer, smiling brilliantly at him "-and my Porsche. They both have dark enough windows. We'll leave a few days before you. There is a flight leaving in 3 days. We'll leave tomorrow and meet you at the airport in San Antonia." She looked sceptically at Seth's tall large frame. "We'll rent a car for you."

"ROAD TRIP! Oh yeah!!" Emmett shouted holding up his hand for a high-five. "Come on guys. Don't leave me hanging! You don't leave a bro hanging. I'm not putting my hand down until one of you high-five me!" He looked around expectantly, fixing his gaze on Bella, wiggling his eyebrows.

Bella was staring at me horrified. "Help me!" She mouthed before escaping with Edward to pack. I smiled and watched everyone buzz around getting ready. Leah and Seth went to tell there mother. Emmett was busy trying to persuade someone to high-five him. Alice bounced up next to me.

"Come on. We need to get you packed and ready to go!" She led me outside chattering about what the weather would be like and what clothes she should pack (so much clothing for just a few days!) for us. Jasper walked quietly beside me.

I still didn't think he should come. What if we met someone he knew from when he was there? What if it was Maria? What if she in some twisted way she wanted revenge or something and went after Jasper or Alice or Leah or any of them? They said they could handle it but what if the other side thought that to? What if they were all newborns with immense strength and bloodthirsty will? Questions like these plagued me. I didn't even register Jasper lifting me and crossing the river. Only when I noticed I was walking but still in his arms I looked up. We were still walking, he was just carrying me. I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder breathing in his familiar homey scent. Alice was holding my hand and still chattering away.

I wasn't tired enough to sleep straight away so I just sat on the couch flipping through the photo albums while Alice flitted around finding bags and packing everything they would need. After a while Jasper sat next to me and started telling me the stories behind the photos. I fell asleep leaning against Jasper's cold arm, his scent in my nose and the images of my past and the present flitting through my mind in a slideshow.

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	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

Ariana's POV

The next day I woke early in the main bedroom curled around a pillow. I got dressed and ready quickly. Opening the window I shivered as a cold blast of fresh air swept into the room. I put on socks and shoes and went hunting for a jersey. I walked into the enormous closet flicking on the light. A piece of paper fluttered to the floor. Picking it up I recognised Alice's writing. 'Ana,' it said.

_We had to go to Seattle to book the tickets and the car. Slight change of plans, you're leaving today. There is some fruit in the living room or you can go to the house. I'm sure Esme will have something for you there. Clover is outside if you need him._

_Alice_

_P.S. there is a jersey for you in the corner. =]_

I folded the note and slid it into the back pocket of my jeans. I found the jersey and was glad to see it had a hood. Passing through the living room I picked an apple and walked outside. The clouds were a bright blinding white. I squinted around until I saw a movement by the river. Clover lifted his head to look at me. Shaking out his mane he slowly walked toward me.

I absently patted his face and flanks, chewing on the sweet apple, thinking about what happened. No one would buy the place now. Rumours had already started when it was my parents and family and just got stronger each time. I would need to go get all the documents. Hopefully it was still in the same place. I quickly mounted him and pulled him around in the opposite direction of the Cullen's house. I bounced up and down as we trotted beside the bank. My legs began to protest to the pain and I encouraged him to go faster into a canter.

We were soon flying passed the river and trees. After an hour I recognised some of the landmarks. We slowed down and I looked around to get my bearings. One moment I was looking up at the trees the next I was holding on for dear life as Clover reared up. He crashed down stamping his hooves into the ground.

"Whoa! Whoa! Calm down!" I instantly bent forward and started whispering in the horse's ears. Slowly he stopped pawing at the ground with his hooves and stood still but I could feel he was edgy, his ears moving in every direction, his eyes moving back and forth, nostrils flaring. "Ssh… you're alright. There's a good boy."

I straightened up but kept one hand on his neck patting him every now and again. I looked around to see what could've spooked him. It didn't take me long and I was shocked I hadn't noticed it. Forty feet in front of us trees had been pulled up by there roots or snapped in half and strewn across the river and bank leaving the ground churned up. _A completely destroyed path._ That's what Charlie had said. I urged him forward to take a closer look.

He protested slightly and made a sneezing noise like he smelt something he was allergic to. I jumped down and pulled the reins over his head so that I could lead him forward. I bent closer to look at the damage and saw claw marks in the wood and earth. I couldn't make out if it was feline or canine. Most of the marks were smudged or unidentifiable. I tied Clover to a protruding branch and made my way through the debris.

It didn't look recent, the forest already reclaiming it. A flutter of colour caught my eye. It was my second marker. A bright red ribbon. I must have passed the first one. I wasn't far from my hiding place now. From the red marker I was supposed to head into the forest for about thirty yards where I would see my third and final marker. Below it there would be a collapsed tree which fell conveniently across two or three rocks leaving a space between it and the ground. A few branches and some remodelling and I had a simple shelter to store my things from the rain. The wind picked up swishing the leaves and loose debris around.

I shivered as I realised the path of destruction was the same path I had to take. I untied Clover and tried to lead him into the forest but he wasn't budging. "Fine, but if I die it's your fault." I turned, squared my shoulders and strode into the forest. It was a different world in the forest away from the glaring whiteness of the clouds. I could hear the chirping of birds and the scurrying of little critters in the under growth. Patches of light came through the trees onto the debris while on either side of me there was a gloomy, green light.

I was unnerved by the fact that my path followed the destroyed path. I looked down to watch my step. The earth was turned, roots bearing themselves. I froze and bent down to examine a print in the dirt. It looked like a large dog, sort of like Seth or Leah's prints but different. I carried on walking keeping my eyes open. I looked ahead to see the yellow ribbon fluttering in the wind.

I looked directly below and gasped in shock as I saw what was there. The shelter had been ripped to shreds. I quickly made my way over to it and sighed in relief as I saw what I was looking for was still there. A boulder the size of a large dog covered in moss was against one of the trees. Next to it was a smaller boulder still in place. I awkwardly moved it out of the way with one arm. In the small space between the rock and tree was a small black backpack. Checking everything was still in it I put it on my back and climbed on top of some of the broken trees and untied the ribbon. I stumbled slightly coming down and reached out to steady my self on a branch.

My hand came into contact with a small piece of material. I looked over the dirty, blackened material trying to figure out how it could have ended up here. I looked down to see something that made everything worse. Less than a foot away was a human hand print and looking closer I could see the indent where someone would've been lying down. I looked past this to the other side of the boulders. The path ended where I was standing; ahead of me the forest was untouched.

I looked around trying to find more. A foot print and some scuff marks. Whoever it was must have fallen on his side. But what about the animal prints? Was someone attacked? I searched some more and came across droplets of a thick almost black substance on some of the leaves. Blood? It didn't look like human blood. I broke off a branch that had some of the dried liquid on it.

I returned quickly, urging Clover to hurry. I jumped down quickly by the back door and raced into the house to look for someone. The first floor was empty and quiet. I climbed up the stairs two at a time and was about to knock on his door when I heard a voice from the other side.

"Come in." I heard his calm voice say.

I pushed open the door to his office. "I found something." I gasped trying to catch my breath. Carlisle sat up straighter and gestured to the chair in front of his desk closing the book he was reading. I sat down and retold what happened this morning. He sat silently listening, his hand supporting his head. He looked like a leaner, paler, clothed version of Rodin's _The Thinker_. I showed him the branch and watched as he brought it to his nose trying to get a scent. He did the same with the cloth.

"This could be what we were looking for." He looked up at me, measuring me, "I guess it couldn't hurt to tell you. Jasper won't be happy but I think you can handle it. There are other creatures in this world. Most I don't even know. All we know is there is something here. We've found its scent all over the forest and the coastline. The only time the scent has physically been on something is when we find these paths through the forest. The rangers think it's a wild animal.

"Who knows maybe it is a wild animal but defiantly something mythical. We just can't seem to figure out what. We've tried tracking it but we're always in the wrong place at the wrong time. If only-"

He was interrupted by Jasper bursting through the door. "What were you thinking going by yourself?!" he seethed standing in front of me with his arms crossed over his chest. I sat up shocked in my seat.

"Since when do I need permission or an escort to go into the forest?" I questioned. I wasn't sure if the anger inside me was my own or from Jasper.

"Jasper, just wait a second. No one was hurt, nothing happened. She is in the forest all the time and needs to know what is going on." Carlisle said standing up. Alice and Edward came through the door.

"Ha! She isn't going anywhere near the forest alone anymore. We don't even know what we're dealing with here!" He directed these comments to Carlisle before turning back to me, "Alice just saw you going into the forest FOLLOWING that path! Why would you follow it? Didn't you think for a second if something could be there? What if _it_ was there?" Jasper said through his teeth fighting to keep control.

Alice reached out and laid her hand on his arm. He instantly relaxed his stiff position and turned to her with pleading eyes. "We can't stop her from being who she is. It's her home and we shouldn't keep these things from her. She needs to know. We should have told her this from the beginning especially since she can help."

"Obviously we need to discuss some precautions but right now let's get through what is happening in Texas and then we can see what we can do about this situation. When you leave the rest of us will go and see what else we can find." Carlisle's clear but firm tone filled the silence.

"What exactly happened?" Edward asked. I retold them everything making sure I showed Edward everything as well.

"Those tracks would be interesting to see. We should ask Charlie if anyone has gone missing in the area." Edward said nodding along with my thoughts.

"We'll have to get to them before it rains again. What if I may ask is in the bag?" Carlisle asked turning his concerned gaze to me.

"Just a few valuables, money and documents for various things. You know passport, legal documents for this sort of stuff etc."

"We should get you packed. There is a flight tonight to Dallas where you'll have a connection to San Antonio. The rest of us will arrive in a few days. Carlisle if you want to have a good look at those tracks you should go now. It's going to rain in the evening. I'll go find Seth and Leah and tell them about the car arrangements." Alice said before pecking Jasper on the cheek and disappearing out the door.

He shoulders slumped in defeat. I could feel a hint of what he was feeling in the air. It was a feeling of loss and giving up and… I couldn't think of the right word for it. Hopelessness? No, it was something else. I hated making him feel like this. I tried to think of something I could say but nothing came.

Edward was talking with Carlisle too low and fast for me to hear. His eyes flickered to Jasper before carrying on his conversation with Carlisle. Jasper nodded and turned to me.

"Lets go." Was all he said.

I got up and followed him downstairs. No one was around. Through the window I saw Emmett helping Rosalie with the cars. Esme was in the kitchen packing something into a brown bag. She smiled at me and gave me a quick hug.

"Good morning dear. I thought you might be hungry." She gestured to a plate of food on the table, "Alice is getting all your things from the house and you'll meet here before driving to the airport." She steered me towards the table and I smiled gratefully as I began devouring the food.

"Wow that smells great!" a voice said from the door. A second later there were two more plates on the table and Seth was already helping himself to some juice. Leah followed slower. I smiled encouragingly at her and the room was permeated with a calming atmosphere. She shot Jasper a look before shrugging and picking at the food.

"For the love of cheese just eat it." I mumbled around a mouthful. I smiled teasingly at her and she returned the grin before taking a bite of toast.

"Happy?"

"Maybe."

***

"Don't forget to call. Seriously, as long as you're with the wolves I can't see you so you have to call!" Alice said fixing me with her threatening stare before smiling brightly at me, "You'll be fine. Don't eat the fruit though. I see that ending badly. Have fun and we'll see you soon." She kissed me on the cheek and hugged me around the waist.

I hugged her back tightly. I turned to look at my flying companions. No one would notice two really tall, dark-skinned and beautiful people. Of course they wouldn't. Yeah right! We were checked in and ready to board.

I quickly said goodbye to everyone, wishing them luck with finding out more about he little mystery. I hesitated before hugging Jasper. "I'll be fine. I'll see you in a few days. Now stop worrying or all the passengers are going to want to get off because they think something bad will happen." I smiled up at him.

He smiled back. "See you in a few days." I suddenly felt happy and calm and light as a bubble. I was used to the mood swings.

"Final boarding call for the flight to Dallas…" a female voice droned over the intercom.

With final goodbyes I chuckled as I saw the few people stop and do a double take as they saw the Cullen's standing in all their beauty. One particular young man caught my eye. He was staring at Rosalie and desperately trying to get her to notice him, posing and flexing his muscles. Emmett glared back at him and then swept Rosalie off her feet kissing her with as much passion as he could muster. Rosalie was only too happy to comply. The man stared wide eyed in shock at them before realising everyone was staring at him either in pity or laughing in his face.

We were shown our seats and I settled between Seth and Leah. It was late and dark outside, drizzling of course. I rested my head against Leah's hot shoulder. She was so much more relaxed without the vampires around. "Hey, Leah what was that phone call about when we had dinner the other night?" I asked my eyelids growing heavy.

"It was just the Cullen's telling us they found another trail. It was further upstream then the one you found. We think whatever it was got in the river and was washed down before being able to climb out. It's strange. They always find the trails near the end of the month. You're beat. Get some sleep." She hummed one of the Quileute songs. I fell asleep with a knot in my stomach. Was it fear or excitement to go back home?

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	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

Jasper PoV

I let out a sigh of relief as the farm house came into view. It was still dark but there was a slight glow to the east. The humans wouldn't notice it for another hour. We parked outside the beige house behind Seth's rental car. I vaguely noticed everyone watching me as I turned around in a slow circle. It was exactly as I remembered in my cloudy memories. The path leading to the barn and fields, the wrap-around porch with the swinging bench, the blue patterned curtains, the large window on the second floor. I couldn't move. My mind was overwhelmed with the lost memories of my past.

Inside the house I could hear the slow heartbeats of Seth and Leah, Seth snoring quietly. A familiar heartbeat quickened and then the owner appeared behind the mesh door. She wore one of the pyjama sets Alice got her, her hair loose and hanging down her back. She smiled brightly pushing the door open and running into Emmett's arms. He swung her around easily and put her down to say hello to everyone else.

I could feel the tension leave the air as everyone saw she was alright. She was emanating pure joy at seeing everyone which was tainted with embarrassment as she realised her reaction to everyone. I couldn't help but feed off her energy as the joy welled up inside of me. I did a quick, routine sweep of the area out of habit. No one would be in the area. It was at least a half hour drive to the road and another hour to the nearest town.

"Jasper, get over here!" Alice hissed under her breath. Only the vampires heard her.

I smiled at her and my frozen heart swelled at her answering smile. I could feel the love she felt and I still couldn't believe how lucky I was. She was hanging onto Ariana's tall frame chatting away about the trip.

Ariana carefully untangled herself from her grasp looking awkward and shy for a moment before wrapping her arms around my waist taking me by surprise. Her warmth burnt through my clothes and her pulse beat against my chest. I took a small shallow breath testing myself. It still burnt like a hot white fire but it was bearable. I could live with the pain. I could feel her relief and contentment and I understood what she felt as I wrapped my arms carefully around her. Emmett suddenly had a surge of happiness that could only be connected with an epiphany. I bent and whispered quickly in her ear, "Don't do it."

She looked up at me confused. "We made it! High-5!" Emmett boomed happily holding up his hand. Understanding crossed her face.

She smiled back at Emmett, "Sorry Em, my hands are tied." She said putting her one arm around Alice and keeping the other around my waist. I let out a chuckle at the fallen expression on his face. Then he perked up and disappeared into the house.

"He's been trying to get someone to high-5 him the whole trip. You should've seen the humans when he tried to get them to. They looked like they were staring a bear in the face!" Edward chuckled out. "Looks like the game is up." He said staring at the door.

"YES!!!!!" Emmett shouted from inside. He appeared a few seconds later dragging a very sleepy Seth behind him, "Ha ha! You thought I wouldn't do it! Thanks to my buddy, Seth here, I got my high-5! He who laughs last… uh… laughs last!" he let out a loud bellowing laugh.

Seth stared at him like he was mad. In one quick movement he had pushed Emmett off the porch into the dirt, "Dude, seriously, not cool." He nodded at everyone and gave a feeble wave before heading back inside.

Emmett being Emmett was not happy with being pushed into the dirt. He brushed himself off and with a determined look on his face and an evil gleam in his eye he marched towards the door.

"Emmett don't even think about it! If you break one thing in or around this house you will pay." Ariana's voice rang clear in the still air.

Emmett stopped mid-step, reaching for the door. He turned his head to look at her. Her face was set, her arms crossed, daring him to protest. He seemed to think about it, weighing his options, he looked up at me and then to Alice, Edward, Bella, Conor and then to the house.

"Dang it, I'm out-numbered." He slumped his shoulders and raised his hands in defeat. Ana smiled in a satisfied way and winked at Bella who was shaking her head.

She climbed up the steps explaining to the others about the house and where everyone was staying. I walked in after everyone, taking my time. I ran my fingers over the faded wallpaper. On my left the living room opened into the dining room with a door at the end leading to the kitchen. On my right there was a bathroom and the staircase leading up to the second floor. I climbed the stairs slowly, a small part of my brain listening to Ana giving everyone else the tour downstairs. I smiled at the familiar yet unknown feel of the banister. On the landing I passed the main bedroom with the window overlooking the front porch, another bathroom and my brother's room. I peeked in my brother's room and noticed the very feminine decorations. I frowned at this. The previous tenants must have had a daughter.

Leah was asleep on the single bed, her legs and arms hanging off the side. I continued my journey to the last bedroom and hesitated before turning the handle. I stepped in and looked around in surprise. It was exactly the same. The same wall decorations, the same desk by the window, the same set of drawers in the corner, the same wood floor. The only difference was the upgraded bed and none of my posters and other bits and pieces on the walls. I noticed some other things but couldn't remember if it had always been there or if it was new. The bed was messy with the cover half on the floor. I recognised Ariana's bag by the drawers.

"Nothings changed. It's all been relatively the same since you were here. I found some old documents and pictures." Ana's quiet voice said from behind me, "Turns out you had a sister you never knew. That's why your brother's room has a more girly theme. Guests stayed in here after you 'disappeared'. No one's changed it since. It was like some unspoken rule to keep all the decoration the same and the family rarely had more then two children. The family that rented the place didn't have much time to make any permanent changes and used this more as a holiday home." She stated in a matter-of-fact way.

I had a sister?! That was… something new. "What happened to her?" I asked remembering her saying she was the first female in the family for quite sometime.

"Died from a disease. We even have the doctor's report." She replied with a sad smile. I nodded and felt a small hand slip into mine. I smiled at my beautiful wife. I could hear everyone downstairs and movement in the next bedroom. We walked out into the hallway to see Leah and Seth emerge from their respected rooms. They nodded good morning to each other and both turned toward the bathroom. They froze in place and eyed each other. They both lunged for the door and even though Seth was closer, Leah was faster and closed the door in his face. Seth not giving up started banging on the door.

"You know I'm not going to stop." He called through to her.

In answer we heard the loud beat of music and the shower being turned on. "Water proof radio clock. It's been like this every morning since we arrived." Ana said shaking her head and leading us back downstairs. Seth smiled at us as we walked past taking the wooden chair in the corner and put it under the door handle. Shaking my head I followed them down the stairs

"Have you sorted everything out?" Edward asked as we sat on the bare chairs and couch in the kitchen/living room.

"Yip. It was pretty much the same as last time but the house isn't for rent now. There's no point. The family on my uncle's farm moved away. I'm not even going to bother selling the surrounding land. The people in town think there's a wild animal and want to send out a hunting party but it's my land and I'm not going to have any more people dying on it." Ariana replied setting down cereal, bowls and milk.

Seth walked in fresh clothes and sat down to eat. Emmett was retelling what we had seen and where we had stopped with unending enthusiasm. We all turned our heads as we heard something land on the ground outside. I turned towards the door pulling Alice behind me. I relaxed as the familiar scent blew in through the open door. Leah walked in wearing jeans and a t-shirt and calmly made her way to the table.

"Nice try, Seth. Try to be a bit more creative next time. Could you pass the milk?" she smiled at him. He sighed and pushed the milk towards her.

The room was filled with quiet chatter, a few speculating about the weather. The vampires and the wolves didn't notice it much but it was easy to see the humans would be cold. I looked over to Ariana trying to figure out how she was holding up in the cold. She looked comfortable in sweats and a t-shirt but as I watched her she curled her bare feet under her, leaning in on herself. I got up quickly and called Conor to help me. After a few minutes we had a roaring fire blazing in the fireplace. She smiled appreciatively at us.

"Have you visited you uncle's farm yet?" Edward asked looking through the paper work. He looked up when he didn't get an answer. Ariana sat still with arms wrapped around her protectively staring at the table. Understanding crossed Edward's face.

"She hasn't visited yet, she's… she's afraid to go." He whispered to low for her to here.

I crossed the room swiftly pulling up a chair next to her. I laid my hand on her arm feeling the calmness well up in me and emit through my fingers to her. She relaxed under my influence, letting out a sigh, she rested her head on the table surface. I leaned towards her.

"We really should go check it out. If you don't feel up to it you can stay here with someone." I whispered into her ear.

I could feel the rise and fall of her emotions as she struggled toward a decision. I looked up at Edward. He nodded and looked at Alice. She was already handing out protective jackets to Seth and Leah. Ariana nodded and reached for her jacket. Alice's face was in a pout and her arms crossed over her chest all the while glaring at the wolves. Edward rolled his eyes wrapping his arms around Bella. I chuckled and kissed her one her nose. Hand in hand we walked out into the cold morning.

---

Ariana PoV

I tucked my head behind Jasper's shoulder trying to keep myself from shivering. We were running slower than usual, matching Leah and Seth's pace. We had all changed quickly into warmer clothes and neither Seth nor Leah was in the mood to stand around without any clothes on in the cold. It was still pretty quick though and I could make out the outline of the buildings against the lightening sky.

My heart sped up and I fought against the wall in my mind. I had been constructing it carefully ever since the over flow when I first arrived. Locking every memory away, unwanted to relive. I shut my eyes trying to hide away from him. My breathing became laboured and I dug my fingers deeper into Jasper's jacket. I felt our pace slow down and cold hands on my own gently freeing them.

"Ana? Ana! Open your eyes. It's ok. No one is going to hurt you. Please open your eyes." Jasper's voice sounded far away. Through the dark cloud in my mind I could feel Jasper's power trying to reach me. With one last push I opened my eyes and was enveloped with calm.

I relaxed my body and looked up into Jasper's worried golden eyes. The others had similar expressions. Edward knelt down and helped to get me standing. From the corner of my eye I saw his lips move a fraction and then stop. I looked up at him. His golden eyes were staring intently at me. I looked away quickly and took an unsteady step. Jasper looped his arm around my waist holding me up. Alice skipped to my other side taking my hand.

"I'm fine." I muttered mostly to myself. They ignored me.

We continued walking in silence. Emmett attempted to make conversation but after a few failed attempts pulled something out of his pocket and was soon in deep concentration. I kept my eyes on the ground crunching over the dry, dead grass. I took slow breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth. The wind pushed from behind us making the hairs stand on my neck.

The ground beneath my feet changed to a dirt road. The tracks were old and faded. It began to curve and I knew we were close. My heart started up again and I fought to keep control. Alice's hand tightened and she stepped closer. The others also moved in closer, peeking at me from the corner of their eyes. If I could I would've or at least attempted to growl at them but I didn't have the energy. A vibrating noise sounded and Edward swiftly pulled out a sleek cellphone and greeted the caller quietly. Further ahead I heard the screech of the old gate opening. A shiver ran down my back as I took a deep breath and lifted my gaze.

The wind changed direction blowing into my face. I took a deep breath of the cool air to steady my nerves. Jaspers arm tightened around me and I noticed everyone's stiff positions. Within seconds I was surrounded. Leah and Seth were behind me with enough room to phase but close enough to get to me quickly. Alice stayed by my side and Bella replaced Jasper who stood in front of me with Edward, Conor and Emmett.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't concentrating. I should've heard them. There's a male and a female." Edward whispered quietly. The caller on the phone said something and he put the phone away in his front pocket adjusting it. I realised there was a camera and it must be Carlisle on the line.

"What's going on?" I whispered. No one answered; they just kept staring in the same direction. I warily followed their gaze sweeping over the abandoned house and to the old barn.

Jasper backed up slowly reaching for me. "It's too late. They're coming out. We got this." Emmett whispered stopping Jasper. Conor bent down swiftly spread something on the ground and pouring water over it. He moved his finger and little sprouts of green appeared. Seeds? At the same time they all crouched slightly, taking defensive positions, someone growled behind me.

My heart leapt in my chest. No… not again. Looking around the unmoving people in front of me I could see the barn doors open. A man stepped out walking backwards still talking with his companion. No… not again. I was in a living nightmare. He turned around and stared in shock at us. The same face, the same expression, the same piercing red eyes I'd seen all those years ago. Something was shaking me. I was shaking me! Alice wrapped her small arms around me trying to keep me steady.

A woman stepped out looking at the man in confusion when she caught sight of us stopping in her tracks. She reached for his hand clasping it tightly. I barely saw her though. It was the man that held my gaze. He wore jeans and a long sleeved cotton shirt with a v-neck collar. The pale skin contrasted with his long dark curly hair. He stood tall and pulled the female behind him.

For the second time in just a few shorts weeks the memories came back. Worse than before. He watched me carefully but soon all I could see was my father's face as he whispered his last words, the destroyed house with my mothers blood, _him_ with his hands covered in my families' blood and the screams of my father with the heavy beat of hooves in my ears.

Another sound reached my ears. A piercing scream. My piercing scream! I was on my knees my hands clutching my hair. The tears flowed freely down my face. It had been years since I had cried. I cried for 3 days after what happened and never since. Until now. I moved my arms around my chest trying to control the heaving of my sobs. I was going to throw up. Cold strong arms lifted me quickly and carried me to the gate. I leaned against it and emptied everything from my stomach. My stomach still contracted although there was nothing left.

Behind me I heard growls and swearing but I didn't turn. An overly hot hand felt my forehead while the other arm wrapped around me holding me up. I took deep breaths again and unconsciously took the tissue that was handed to me. I wiped my mouth and slowly stood up straighter. Another arm looped around me. Looking to my sides I saw Leah and Seth looking back in concern. They were both shaking slightly but they were in control. Who knew, maybe it would be worth being ripped apart by giant wolves. A growl sounded just behind I glanced back to see Edward staring at me, his eyes blazing.

"Don't ever think like that! You might not realise what the consequences of something like that happening but I do." He hissed at me. Leah and Seth shared a confused look but shrugged it off at the look on his face.

I slumped into them knowing he was right. "I want to go home." I whispered.

"Come on. We're leaving now. We'll be there in a few minutes." Seth whispered in my ear.

I shook my head picturing the green forests and deep blue ocean of home.

They let go of me and I was numbly passed to Edward who quickly knocked my feet from under me, catching me before I fell. I winced slightly at the bruises. The cold seeped through numbing the pain.

"I'll meet you at the house." and with that he took off pulling up the hood of my jacket and curling me towards him out of the wind.

Peaking under his arm I saw Leah and Seth run behind the house and emerging in all there glory towering over everyone. They yapped and barked circling everyone. By the barn there was a green mass along with Emmett, Conor and Jasper trying to get everything under control. Alice appeared at our side just keeping pace with Edward. He slowed down to her pace even letting her overtake him. Well for a bit. We were soon inside and I was unceremoniously stuffed into a woolly jumper and thick socks wrapped in duvet with my head resting on Alice lap. She ran her fingers through my hair trying to soothe me but the shudders still rippled through me. Edward tended to the fire. The door banged open and Emmett trudged in a smile on his face. His eyes sparkled with the challenge.

"You got any names for us, Eddy?" he asked rubbing his hands together.

"William and Alicia. They found each other quite recently and didn't stop thinking about each others welfare long enough for me to get anything useful. I'll join you guys just now. And stop calling me Eddy." Edward replied his irritation seeping in at the end.

"She'll be asleep just now." Alice whispered.

"Ha-ha Eddy…" I mumbled welcoming the darkness of sleep.

* * *

**so lots of excitement! now go leave a review!! pretty please?????**


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